Magic and Gaming and LARP-ing, oh my!
by KikiTwinTai
Summary: Take a vampire, a wizard, an ice mage, several little brothers and a spell gone wrong. After a request from America to make their game come alive, England's misuse of magic has trapped everyone in a medieval-like fantasy, and now it's up to the magic trio to track everyone down. Trouble is, they could be anywhere in the world. Literally! Rated T for language and violence.
1. The Spell Goes Wrong

A/N Hello! Kiki here. (new readers can ignore this. I'm very happy you decided to read this, and I hope you enjoy it! I'm trying for a more comedic angle this time, so please let me know if you' enjoy it or not.)

For those who've been following this already, a quick explanation. I really wanted to go for a more comedic and (hopefully) almost crack angle with this. To that end, having basic chapter titles (chapter 1 and so on) was terribly boring and rather bland. I have therefore decided to go back and do what I _should_ have down from the beginning. Therefore, don't panic if you see this has suddenly updated. All I've done is put in proper chapter titles and a little summary of each chapter to inject some much-needed humour and a bit of personality.

Nothing has changed of the chapters themselves, it's purely titles, summaries and any author notes.

With that in mind, here's Chapter 1! 

Summary: _The nations all meet up for a week of games, drinking and general relaxation. Things are rarely that simple, however. When an attempt to make things a little more interesting goes awry, the nations are about to find out that imagination can become a little too real after all…_

* * *

 **Day one: In which Matthias is overjoyed, Lukas keeps his cool and Emil is decidedly _not_ amused. The weather doesn't help either, but is necessary for dramatic effect.**

 _A board is set up, a rulebook produced. Chairs are pulled back, and the players sit down. Pieces are placed, carved figures move to the sound of a rolling dice, and the game begins…._

It was raining, as it had been all day. Now dusk was settling in, taking what little visibility the day had had with it. A group of figures stood together, silently staring out across the landscape.

They were standing in the middle of a large plain, grass rolling out in every direction in uneven tussocks and bends until, far in the distance, it reached tall mountains stretching up to snow-covered peaks. Small streams wound throughout the grass, spreading out across the wild, untamed land. A lone eagle flew overhead, calling out mournfully.

The travellers looked up at the sound, then back at each other. They shuffled, trying to shield themselves from the worst of the rain. One, the tallest, had the worst of it, his head uncovered by cloak or helmet. He drew the eye with his tall frame, his status as a warrior immediately evident by the two-headed battle axe that rested between his shoulder blades, the counter-balanced pole almost touching the ground. The other two were shorter, their builds hidden by the cloaks they wore. One blue, one brown. To a casual observer it was merely a choice of fabric, but to them, it signified their disciplines – the former the earthen tone of healing, the latter the deep tone of power used for attack.

It was the one in blue who spoke first. His voice broke the silence softly, yet cutting.

"Well, I suppose we ought to find shelter for the night, then." he said, emotionlessly.

The tall blond looked down at him in surprise. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Or we could just camp!"

The brown-cloaked one spoke next. His voice was high, revealing him to be just a boy. "NO. You must be joking, Den."

The blond pouted. "But Ice, we used to all the time. And in worse weather than this."

The boy wasn't impressed. "That was because you were out in the middle of Gods know where preparing for Viking pirate raids, or something. And I wouldn't know anyway. I wasn't born then, remember? Or found. Whatever."

"It doesn't matter," the other replied. "Matthias, Emil is right. That was the past. This is…different. We should try to find the others tomorrow. For now, let's find an inn or something. We can't be far from a town."

Matthias pouted a little at apparently being deprived from the 'fun' of camping, but relented. The rain was becoming harder, anyway.

"Fine. We all have enough gold for it?"

The other two nodded. "OK. Let's go then." He strode off, only to turn back a few paces later with a rueful expression.

"Lukas, which way is the nearest town?" he asked.

The younger man shut his eyes for a moment. He held out a hand, the air around it glowing blue for a moment. He frowned, concentrating. "That way," he pointed.

"Good. Let's go then! Better hurry or I'll have both of you whining at me in the morning."

They set off across the grass, heading in the direction pointed out by the mage. Soon, they reached a path, little more than cobbles set unevenly into the dirt, but with a wooden signpost pointing the way. They followed it, hoping it wouldn't be long before they reached the comfort of a warm bed.

True enough, barely an hour had passed before the road widened into a street, properly cobbled and obviously well-travelled. They stopped outside the huge gates that signalled the entrance, manned by a couple of sleepy guards who were trying to hide under the broad arch to get out of the rain.

"Halt, travellers. What brings you here?"

After a quick glance at the other two, Matthias stepped forward. "We were exploring, and got a little lost. Before we knew, it was dark. Lucky Lukas was able to guide us, or we'd be stuck out there all night! So we made it here in search of a warm bed and maybe a mug or two of ale to keep us warm?"

The guards weren't impressed by his friendly babble, simply holding out a hand. "Fine. 20 coins each to enter. Don't make any trouble or you'll face the Jarl. Got it?"

"Sure thing." Matthias gestured to Lukas, who stepped forward and deposited the coins in the guard's outstretched hand. Satisfied, the guard signalled to his partner, and together they heaved open the heavy gates.

Inside, the town was like any other. Houses and shops sat huddled together in a mish-mash of buildings, streets formed more through chance than any sense of order. They asked directions from the guard, then hurried to the inn.

Once inside, they shook off the worst of the rain. Taking a look around, they were immediately drawn to the long fire that stretched in a deep pit along the length of the room, benches and seats placed around it.

Matthias went up to the bar and, after a brief conversation, exchanged a few coins with the woman there. He gestured the other two over to him.

"You three together then?" The barmaid asked.

Matthias nodded. "Is that a problem?"

She shook her head. "No. One of you will have to sleep on the floor, though, 'less you want a double room. Which is extra."

They shared a glance. "One room is fine," Lukas said. "Myself and my brother will take the bed. He will take the floor." He nodded at Matthias, who pouted slightly, then nodded resignedly.

The woman raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "This way then." She led them up a narrow staircase, away from the main room. Opening one of the doors with the chain of keys that hung on her belt, she showed them in, then left, after telling them that they were welcome to come down for food or ale at any time.

They waited until she was gone, then turned to each other.

Emil spoke first. "Well, this is fun, isn't it?" he accused scathingly.

Lukas turned to him, his face uncharacteristically apologetic. "I'm sorry, brother. We didn't mean- "

"What? Didn't mean what? You were the ones who started this stupid thing in the first place. We were only supposed to be playing. Just a simple game, that was all! I wasn't even playing! Now because your of your stupid 'magic trio' and that guys' useless magic, we're all stuck in this stupid place with no way of getting out! And worst of all, we don't even know where any of the others are, let alone how to get back! I seriously hate you right now, _brother!_ "

His normally pale, emotionless face was red with anger, glaring at Lukas with blazing amethyst eyes. Lukas bore the accusation calmly, looking at his brother coolly.

"Are you finished?" he asked.

Emil flushed further, his face deepening to a dark blush. "I-I didn't mean- "

"No, you're right. I'm sorry, Lillebrør. I didn't think that Arthur's magic would go quite so far."

Emil blinked in surprise at his brother's apology. He looked away, his brows drawn. "That doesn't make it any better." he muttered.

"Hey, Ice, don't be like that!" Matthias drew an arm around the teen's shoulders, ignoring his attempts to throw the taller man off.

"It'll be cool, you'll see. We'll start finding the others in the morning, OK? It'll be an adventure. We've got all our stats and stuff, so it's not like we're in any danger. Besides, this is like old times, isn't it, Nor? You, me and little Ice, travelling across the land, searching for treasure, you using magic. Only now Ice can use healing magic, so we're even better off than then! Just enjoy this, yeah?"

"I am not little, you oaf." Emil countered. "And don't use those names. If we're stuck in this stupid game we'll have to act like it. That means no using our normal names. We'll all have to use our human names."

"True." Lukas laughed softly, making the others turn to him in surprise.

"What'cha laughing at, Nor-Lukas?" Matthias questioned.

The blond smiled. "You were right, Matthias. This _is_ like old times. We're lucky."

Emil scoffed. "Lucky? How on earth are we lucky?!"

Lukas smiled at him. "Remember what we were playing, brother?"

The pale-haired teen thought. "So?"

Another smirk. Understanding dawned for the other. "Oh, I see. Still doesn't make it any better."

Matthias looked from one to the other, confused. "What? What? Lukaaaaaas, tell meeeee."

The youngest Nordic turned to him. "What do the others call us, _Denmark_?"

He looked confused. "You said not to use our names. Why would-ooohh." The other two smiled as he realised it.

"We're the Nordics! Now we're Nords again!" he grinned happily. His face fell slightly. "So we're fine. But the others aint' exactly gonna fit in. Are they gonna be ok?" He looked worried.

Lukas thought about it. "Well, we can't be sure until we know for certain who's here. I have a theory, but I can't confirm it until I find Arthur. If I'm right, then most of us will be alright. Some of us might be a little…far away, though." He didn't elaborate any further, leaving the other two puzzled.

Matthias shook himself suddenly, making his hair bounce. "Oh well. That can all wait till tomorrow. For now, bed. Ic-Emil, you're gonna fall asleep on your feet any minute now, I can tell. For a kid who spends so much time on his phone I'd've thought you could stay awake longer. You used to when you were a kid. Bed, now." He pointed to the furniture in question. Emil gave it one look.

"I'd rather _not._ " He said, the disgust evident in his tone.

Lukas sighed. "You have become completely spoiled, lillebrør. A few centuries of comfort and it's like you never lived like this. It's not like you haven't slept like this before."

"That's because I didn't!" he retorted. "I lived in a castle, _if_ you remember. And before you say anything about before you found me, I barely remember that. I was a baby. And it wasn't like you ever took me out on raids with you, so no, I haven't slept like this before. I didn't ask to be here, I don't want to be, and I certainly don't want to be here with _you_. So excuse me if I'm not overjoyed at returning to the 'good old times' like _him_!" He thrust his chin to Matthias, glaring.

Seeing the glimmer of tears in the teens' eyes, coupled with the rising hysteria in his voice, Lukas went over to him. Drawing him into his arms, he shushed him calmly, ignoring the protests. He stroked the teen's white locks soothingly.

"It's alright, lillebrør. Don't be scared. We'll get out of this, don't worry. You're with us, we won't let anything happen."

Emil tried to protest, but he couldn't deny the comfort his brother's solid arms gave him. Matthias walked over and joined in the hug, his arms going around them both.

"Hey, Ice, if it helps, think of this like a game. I mean, it already is, but don't think about it. It's not real, yeah? It's just gonna be a day or so till we find the others, then we'll be back in that boring hotel with everyone else, OK? Just, like, pretend we're acting, or something. It'll be fine, you'll see. Like Nor said, we're both here, and we ain't gonna let anything happen to you. We can't; you're our healer, yeah? We need ya. Let's just have some fun. I'll even teach ya ta be a proper Viking while we're at it." he grinned.

Lukas elbowed him, making him draw away. "What was that for?" he whined.

"Shut up, stupid Dane" he said.

"Nord" Matthias countered helpfully. "We're Nords now, Lukas. Gotta get it right."

"Of course. You idiotic, dumb Nord, only good as our hired muscle. By the way, how did you find an axe so close to your own in this game? I don't remember you buying it."

Matthias grinned. "No idea! Guess it was the eyebrow guy's magic?" he said happily.

Lukas rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He turned back to Emil. "Whatever the case, it's late and we'll need our strength tomorrow. We're in a town, so there's little chance of being attacked. Get some sleep, lillebrør."

Whether from the late hour or the combination of fear, exhaustion and relief, Emil couldn't find the energy to argue. Taking off his cloak, which had sheltered him from the worst of the rain, he sat down on the bed, pulling his boots off and placing them next to the bed. He could feel his eyes drooping in tiredness, and he reluctantly gave in to it. Lying down on the bed, he listened vaguely as Lukas removed his own cloak and boots, then felt the bed dip as he lay beside him.

He made a token effort to protest as he felt his brother draw his arms around him, pulling him close, but gave in with the murmured 'sleep, lillebrør'. It was hard to resist the undeniable sense of safety his brother's presence gave him. That, coupled with the warmth of the room and his sheer exhaustion, allowed him to finally relax, drifting off to sleep. He couldn't quite deny the strange sense of nostalgia and the tiny voice inside his head that whispered that this could be a rather exciting adventure after all.


	2. Never Argue with Arthur

**Day Two: In which Lukas and Matthias still keep their cool and Emil is not surprised to find out whose fault this all is.**

Chapter 2

Thankfully, the rain had died down overnight, leaving the morning bright and sunny. Emil woke up slowly, as usual. He panicked for a moment, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, then the memories of the day before sank in. He sat up suddenly, then clutched his head as the movement made his head hurt. He hissed at the light streaming in through the wooden shutters, which someone had thrown open at some point.

"Still not a morning person, then, little brother" Lukas commented. Emil turned his head to see the other two entering the room. Matthias held a mug in each hand, while Lukas was carrying a tray set with plates a bowl of something steaming.

"Shut up" the teen said. Lukas raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything, he placed the tray on the small table. "Come on, breakfast."

Groaning, Emil heaved himself out of bed and rummaged around for his boots, pulling them on and slumping down on the seat.

"Why were you up so early?" he asked around a mouthful of bread.

"Talking. Well, he was." Lukas pointed to the Dane, who grinned. "Yep! Turns out we're pretty much exactly where we last saved. Well, the last time we wrote anything down, anyway. So the nearest large town is about a day away. We can go there and get a map, so we can start to find the others. Lukas has an idea where his magic buddies are gonna be, so we're planning on finding them first, then the others. That sound good ta ya?"

Emil merely nodded, too tired to think any further. As long as his idiot of an older brother was trying to find a way to send them back, he didn't much care for the details.

After the breakfast (the bowl turned out to be a stew of some kind, which he flatly refused to eat) they gathered their cloaks and bags and set off.

Luckily, the day was warm, the storm of the night before having blown over. It was prefect weather for travelling, not too warm and not too cold, with a light chill to the air that was just enough to make them feel fresh. Matthias, it seemed, had taken to their situation with his usual boundless glee, and looked every inch the Nordic warrior he had lived as for so many centuries. His eyes twinkled with happiness, his face alight with the thrill of adventure, wondrously happy to be back in a time he had loved so much.

The other two were less pleased. Lukas bore it as he did everything else, with a bland expression and air of faintly bored amusement. He didn't seem particularly bothered with the turn of events, and seemed perfectly content to play the part of a wandering mage.

Emil, on the other hand, was decidedly _not_ happy. _Playing_ games was one thing. He loved his consoles as much as any teenager. But he preferred them to be resolutely on the other side of a screen, as they should be. Being thrust into one so suddenly, and all due his brother and their little 'magic trio's misuse of magic, was another thing entirely. If the numerous fairy tales his brother had read to him as a child were anything to go by, this could _not_ end well. He was suddenly reminded of the numerous shows and games that Leon watched with Kiku and Mei, and had dragged him into watching as well. One, in particular, highlighted exactly what could go wrong.

He felt a rush of fear sweep through him. "We are safe, here, right guys?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

Lukas turned to him. "Why? Are you scared?"

Emil looked away, frowning slightly. "No. Just wondering" he blustered.

Lukas smiled slightly. "Don't worry, lillebrør. We won't let anything happen to you. I told you that. Now keep walking. We have a long way to go."

"that's not really what I meant" the teen muttered. His apprehension didn't lighten, but, sighing, he resolved not to think about it, following behind the other two resignedly.

They stopped after a few miles, when the sun was high in the sky. Lukas and Matthias could easily have carried on for a few more hours, but seeing Emil flagging, the Dane had called a break, declaring a point in the distance to be 'the perfect spot for a picnic, don't you think?"

It was indeed. The path they were following had curved though the landscape and up along the base of the mountains in a gentle incline, rising for a few miles until the contours of the mountain led it down again. They were now walking down the path along a wide ridge overlooking the valley floor. A gentle ribbon of water ran and stretched along the middle of the valley, bordered on either side by a wide expanse of grass, dotted with hundreds of bushes and flowers and the occasional short, stubby tree.

The place that Matthias had pointed to was a perfect little plateau near the middle, with a stretch of short grass just at the edge of the stream, in perfect view of the surrounding landscape.

As soon as they reached it, he lay down in the grass and stared up at the sky, looking for all the world like a child. Albeit a very tall child, carrying far more weaponry than was strictly necessary, but he looked so happy that the other two simply shared a glance and sat down on either side of him.

"This is great, isn't it Norge?" he asked.

"What happened to using names, Matthias?" the Norwegian asked.

"Bah. There's no-one here. It's like old times. We used to go on picnics like this all the time, just us three. You would take a basket and blanket and we would walk out where no-one would find us. We'd spend the whole day away from the castle, doing nothing. You would sing and Icey would run round trying to catch butterflies and dancing. Then when he got tired I'd carry him back and he'd fall asleep way before we got back." He sighed, lifting a hand towards the endless blue expanse above him. "What I'd give to go back then."

Lukas glanced over at Emil, who looked thoroughly embarrassed at the memory. "I was a child. That was centuries ago. Literally."

The blond ignored him. "Norgeeeeeee. Ya could, couldn't ya?"

Lukas looked thoughtful. "Possibly. I'm not sure if that kind of magic would work here. We may be bound to the rules of the game. If not…" he trailed off, looking towards his brother.

The white haired teen gathered the gist of their thoughts, and jumped up in horror. "NO! No way! You're not doing it! You wouldn't dare!"

Lukas held out his arms. "Come here, little brother."

Emil glared at him, taking a step backwards. "Hell no. I am not letting you any where near me. Not like this. Besides, what happened to needing a healer, huh? You'll need me to heal the stupid Dane when he does something stupid. Which I'm sure he will."

The pale-haired man smiled slightly, getting up and walking towards his brother. "I'm sure I'd work something out. We managed before, and long before we found you."

"No. Go _away_." Emil kept retreating. Unfortunately, he kept his eyes on his brother, meaning that he completely failed to notice how close he was to the edge of the plateau.

Seeing how close his brother was to the edge, Lukas realised the danger, and tried to call out a warning. Emil mistook the concern on his brother's face, however, and took another step back. His face morphed into shock as he stepped onto thin air, and toppled backwards. His cry of shock was cut off sharply as he hit the ground below.

Lukas ran forward. He jumped off the plateau, uncaring of the drop, and ran to his brother. He gasped.

Where there _should_ have been simple grass, like the surrounding plain, the ground was instead covered in a mixture of uneven rocks, hidden from sight as the river curved gently to form a delta. The plateau, no doubt the result of ancient glaciers pushing their way through the landscape, had led to the formation of a river cliff, with the water depositing the rocks too heavy to carry at its base. Although only a yard or so high, a fall onto a surface like that was sure to have been incredibly painful.

The teen lay motionless on the ground. Lukas knelt beside him, slipping on the slick rocks. He stared at the pale face, eyes closed.

"Matthias!"

Alerted by the tone of sheer alarm, the Dane jumped up and ran across the grass, hurtling headlong down the lee slope of the plateau and across the rocks. Seeing the Norwegian hunched over, he threw himself to his knees.

"What happened? I saw him fall, but it's not high, so what's wrong? He's ok, right?"

Lukas' face was pinched in concern. "I don't know. He might have hit his head." He reached out his hands and very carefully lifted the teen. His suspicions were confirmed when his palm came away dotted with red. He swore harshly.

"Matthias. Go and get my bag. It should have everything you need. Hurry!" he barked.

Not wasting any time, Matthias ran back to where they had placed everything. Grabbing Lukas' bag, he ran to the edge of the plateau and jumped down, his long legs touching the ground almost immediately.

"Here." He thrust the bag towards Lukas, who took it roughly. He rummaged around, drawing out bandages and several pouches, full of the herbs and ingredients he had collected. He silently thanked all the gods he had ever known, old and new, that he had decided to let his character study alchemy as well as magic.

"owwwwww." A moan startled the two. Emil stirred, his eyes opening slowly and blinking. He tried to lift a hand to his head, only for Lukas to slap it down again.

"Don't move" he ordered, his voice stern.

"Hurts" Emil whispered. "Why am I on the ground?" He sounded confused.

Lukas ignored him, but the relief was evident on his face. He stared into his brothers face, conjuring a light around his palm and narrowing it into a beam, which he shone into the other's eyes.

Emil hissed at the light, but it evidently satisfied Lukas, who saw the pupils shrink ad expand normally. He sat back on his heels. Only Matthias would have noticed the slight trembling of his thin form.

"Emil, do you know who you are?" he asked gently.

The teen stared up at him. "What? Don't ask stupid questions, you idiot."

"Just answer it."

He sighed. "My name is Emil Steilsson."

"Good. Anything else?"

"I am the personification of Iceland, which _you_ mistakenly named."

Lukas and Matthias shared a glance. That was the major test, and he'd passed.

"Good. Do you know why you're here?"

Emil frowned, or tried to. The movement made his head hurt, and the memory flooded back.

"Do you mean here as in stuck in the middle of nowhere in a shitty fake game because your _friend_ can't use magic to save his life, or here as in lying on these rocks because your efforts to relive your glory days made me fall off a cliff? Because I blame you both either way."

Matthias laughed. "I'd say he's fine, wouldn't you, Norge?"

Lukas ignored him, focussing on his brother. "Sit up, very slowly." Emil did so, biting back a retort when his head spun. Lukas made him lean forward, inspecting the back of his head.

"You're incredibly lucky. You must have just managed to miss hitting your head anywhere that would cause serious damage." He stared at his brother for a moment, then lunged forward and caught him in a strong embrace.

"I'm so sorry, lillebrør." He clutched him tight. Emil was about to protest, but felt his brother's heartbeat hammering and realised his utter panic. He lifted his arms slowly, returning the hug.

Matthias sighed in relief and knelt next to the two, drawing his arms around them both. "We seem to be doing this a lot lately, huh?" he commented.

Lukas drew back slightly to stare at him. "What do you mean, stupid Dane?" he asked.

"Group hugs!" Matthias replied, grinning.

Lukas rolled his eyes and turned back to Emil. "Lean forward and lift your hair out of the way" he ordered. Emil complied, his face wary. Lukas smeared some kind of paste onto a bandage and wound it around the teen's head. Emil squirmed and flinched as he felt the cold poultice hit his skin.

"Stop that. You could have a concussion. For now, you are incredibly lucky, you realise that?" his voice held a note of warning.

Emil rolled his eyes, as much as it hurt. "Wouldn't have happened if you weren't being annoying" he muttered.

Lukas ignored him, but Emil could feel his hands shaking slightly, and let the matter drop. He put up with the rest of his brother's ministrations silently.

Tying the bandage off, Lukas stood and walked over to the water, rinsing his hands and wiping them on his cloak.

"Well, I think we should press on. No more teasing, Ice, I promise." He stared at his brother, midnight blue reflecting amethyst. Emil nodded, then winced.

"Good." Lukas helped him up, then picked up his bag and slung it onto his back.

"Let's go. We still have a long way to go and I'd like to be there before dark."

They retrieved the rest of their bags and set off. They walked in companionable silence, simply enjoying each other's company. Lukas made an effort to talk to Emil from time to time, checking that there were no lingering effects.

The sun was just beginning to slip below the horizon when they reached the town. As before, they paid the toll demanded by the guards and entered through the gates. There was much more of a sense of order here, and it didn't take them long to reach an inn.

Lukas had led the way with a sense of determination, the other two following him confusedly. He didn't bother to explain where he was going, but they were used to it. he undoubtedly had some sort of plan, and they went along with it.

They saw why almost immediately. Lukas' guiding had led them to a large inn in the centre of the town. Looking up at the sign, they realised why he had known to come here. The wooden board had a faded, although perfectly legible, picture of a horned horse. A unicorn. The national symbol of the unofficial leader of the magic trio. Arthur Kirkland. One-time leader of the British empire and its vast domains, his reputation was rather diminished lately.

The fact that he was without a doubt the one responsible for their current predicament did _not_ help.

Lukas opened the door, not bothering to look around before he made a beeline to a cloaked figure sitting with their back to the door, no doubt nursing a mug of ale. The Norwegian simply grabbed him, heaving him up and leaning in to whisper something in his ear.

Whatever it was, it had an immediate effect. The blond whirled round, his hood falling back as he did so. His eyes took in the sight of the tall Dane and shorter teen, alighting on the bandage wound around the white locks.

"Bloody hell, what happened to you?" he blurted.

Emil scowled at him, staying silent. He had never truly forgiven the Englishman for the occupation of his land during WWII, and he certainly wasn't about to now.

"Emil had a little accident, that's all. It was my fault. Now, we have far more important matters to discuss, Arthur."

The blond nodded. "Right. This way then." He led them to the room he was staying in, tossing a couple of coins onto the bar as he did so. "Keep quite though, I'm not exactly alone" he warned.

Lukas raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Emil had a matching look of annoyance as he realised. Matthias, of course, was as clueless as ever.

Arthur opened the door and ushered them in, then shut it. He sighed heavily, slumping into a chair. His rooms were far larger than the one the three had stayed in the previous night. This was more of a suite, with a large bed in the centre of the room, tall wardrobe and tables to either side. A smaller room branching off held another smaller bed. A small figure could be seen curled up on it, seemingly asleep.

"First off, I didn't mean for this, I hope you know" he said tiredly.

"You never do" Emil hissed. Arthur raised his head to look at the teen. "Look, I know you don't like me, and you hang out with my boy far too much, but I mean it, alright?"

"he isn't yours any more" Emil muttered, looking away. It was hard to tell given the dim light of the room, but his cheeks looked faintly pink.

Arthur looked stricken for a moment, then recovered. Being reminded of lost colonies was never pleasant, after all, but after the collapse of his empire it could hardly be helped.

"Well, anyway. I'm very glad you're here, Lukas. Now we just need to find Vlad and we can start trying to rectify this."

"I have an idea where we'll find him" Lukas said. He took the seat next to the blond, taking out a piece of parchment. "Do you have anything to write with?" he asked.

"Oh, right." Arthur stood up and walked over to the bedside table, taking out some pieces of charcoal. He rummaged in his pocket and drew out a small wooden cylinder, which he fitted the charcoal into. "Rudimentary, I'm afraid, but this should do the trick."

Lukas took it without complaint and started writing. Seeing the thread of his writing, Arthur sat back down, watching him.

"Do you have a map?"

Arthur produced one from the depth of his bag. "Had it already for some reason. And before you say anything, no I did not plan for this in any way. I couldn't have, anyway. it doesn't work like that." He didn't look up from the paper, but his voice was directed to Emil, who frowned, unconvinced.

Lukas raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment.

The voices had caught the attention of the occupant in the other room, who stood in the doorway, listening sleepily to the argument.

"What's going on?" a small voice asked.

The others looked over to the door. A boy of around 12 years old stood in the doorway, clad in a white shirt and short trousers. His feet were bare, and he was rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Did you find anyone else, jerk Arthur?"

"Peter?!"

The boy perked up at the sound of his name, He looked towards the speaker, and seeing who had addressed him, ran across the room.

"Uncle Den!" he cried. Matthias laughed, catching the boy in his strong arms and lifting him up. He hugged him tightly, then set him back down, his face serious.

"Petey, why are you here?" he looked around. "Are fin and sve here too?"

Peter shook his head. "No. Arthur says papa and Dad aren't here. But its ok, because now you're here! And you're a proper Viking, so it'll really fun now. I can be a Viking too! Dad says I'm not allowed to be a Viking 'cause it's not safe, but I've seen papa use his guns and you use your axe to cut wood and I _was_ born in the war so I'm not scared of blood and stuff and can I please? I'll be really good, I promise."

Matthias bore his nephew's usual giddy chatter with a smile, then, standing, ruffled his head and looked toward Arthur. His face grew dark.

"Would you like to explain why my nephew is here, Arthur?" he asked dangerously.

Arthur raised an eyebrow, his face unconcerned. "He is _my_ brother, _if_ you remember."

"Am not!" Peter argued. Arthur shot him a glance.

" _Anyway_. Familial contentions aside, I'll do my best to explain. As near as I can tell, the spell only affected those of us who were present in the room when I cast it."

Peter turned in his uncle's arms, staring up at him. "yeah. And papa and Dad had gone back to their room early. I think they went to eat candy or something, cause they were looking at each other and smiling, and they were being all secret, like they thought I didn't know." His face looked furtive, as though he had figured out a secret.

The adults in the room shared a glance. _Ah, innocence_.

Emil looked thoroughly disgusted. He rolled his eyes and went to stand by the window, pointedly ignoring the others.

Arthur and Lukas continued to talk in hushed tones, working out the details. Matthias listened to Peter's chatter, occasionally replying. After a while, he took him out to the inn to get something to eat, dragging Emil with him. They returned a while later with bowls for the other two, knowing that they would undoubtedly forget to eat otherwise.

Peter looked over his brother and uncle's shoulder's, trying to get a view of what they were writing. Seeing nothing but diagrams and paragraphs of dense handwriting, he grew bored, pestering Matthias to go outside.

"Look, it's clear, we can see the stars! Can we go and see, please uncle?"

"Ok. You coming, icey?"

Emil looked up. Seeing there was clearly nothing better to do, he traipsed out with the others.

They spent a few hours standing outside, staring up at the sky. Peter started a game of spotting shapes in the unfamiliar constellations, him and Matthias competing for the strangest ideas. After a while, Emil cut in, his acerbic wit making the other two laugh.

They returned with the moon shining brightly, Matthias carrying a sleepy Peter over his shoulder. He set him down on the bed gently, making sure to place a candle on the table. Seeing Emil yawning, he pushed him towards the bed too. The teen didn't look happy to have to share a room with his cousin, but relented. Peter opened his eyes briefly, then settled down again.

"You better not snore" he warned sleepily. Emil merely scoffed, sliding between the covers and turning his back on him. "You share with your brother, don't you?" he muttered.

"mm. Erl doesn't snore" he mumbled. Emil ignored him. The two fell asleep, trusting that the adults would come up with a solution to this crazy situation by the time the sun rose again.


	3. Explanations (pt 1)

**Day Three: In which Emil hates shopping and Arthur tries to explain his actions, with limited success.**

Chapter 3

Emil was woken by the sound of voices. Turning, he saw that Peter must already be up. He groaned. No doubt the kid would be sent to wake him up before long. _Just like home,_ he thought.

Groaning, he rolled out of bed. He pulled his boots on again – reflecting that they were pretty much exact replicas of the type he had worn for so many centuries – and went to find the others. Surprisingly, the outer room was empty. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and making his way down to the inn.

The barmaid looked up when she saw him, giving a quick smile. "Breakfast, love?" she asked.

Emil nodded gratefully, and dug in his pouch for a few coins. The girl waved his hand away. "Your brother paid the tab already" she explained. Emil rolled his eyes. _Still not letting me be independent,_ he thought. Well, who was he to complain about a free meal? He was a teenager, after all.

After finishing the bowl of porridge – which was surprisingly good, he found – he asked the girl if she had seen any of the others. She pointed to the door.

"Left a while ago. Said something about finding supplies. And a map, I think."

Emil groaned. Trust his brother. "Do you have any idea where they might be, please?" he asked.

The girl laughed. "There's only one place round here that sells stuff that fancy." She gave him directions, then leaned her chin on her hands. "What you here for, anyways? You don't look like hunters. Least, not you two. The other one, maybe. Tall, and that axe!" she blushed a little, then looked away, guiltily.

"I-I didn't mean anything by that, of course. Just, you know. A girl could do worse than a guy like that. Is he, perhaps, walking out with anyone?"

 _Wouldn't you like to know!_

Emil could hardly tell her the truth, since if this society was anything like the one he had spent his childhood in, it wouldn't likely be welcomed with open arms. Suddenly, he had an idea.

He grinned wickedly. "No, he's single. Want me to have a word with him?"

The girl blushed again. "W-would you? I mean, really?"

He nodded. "Of course. We've been travelling for a while, I'm sure he'd love some company. Especially from someone as pretty as you."

 _Wow, guess Leon really rubbed off on me! All those weird shows he made me watch with the others must have sunk in after all._

Emil could never see the point of the sort of cheesy lines no drama seemed to be without, but that didn't mean he didn't know how to use them.

After chatting meaninglessly for a while, he bid the girl goodbye. Going back up to fetch his cloak, he left the inn and wandered out. Having got directions to the store, he decided to wander around the town for a while. There wasn't any harm, surely.

By some strange coincidence, it was market day. He wandered down the street, looking at the various stalls. Surprisingly, he found the sights and smells more nostalgic than he expected. He had rarely been taken to markets when he was little, Matthias and Lukas being entirely too over-protective for his own good when he was little. He did have memories of Berwald taking him a few times, after repeated begging. Matthias hadn't been exactly happy, but he couldn't deny that no-one in their right minds would have dared to mess with the tall, intimidating Swede.

Emil smiled slightly at the memory. His small legs hadn't been able to keep up with Berwald's long stride, and he had lagged behind. Eventually, he had been lifted up and placed on the man's broad shoulders, allowing him to see the market and all the wares. Berwald had even bought him a sweet pastry, telling him in his usual quiet voice not to say a word to Matthias about it. Emil had found this hilarious, and spent the rest of the day clutching Berwald's hair with sticky little fingers, beaming happily.

The stalls here were broadly the same, meats and vegetables set out in displays, vendors calling out their prices in competition with each other. Smaller stalls displayed jewellery and crafts, their prices on display, but ready to be negotiated with the discretion of the owner. Emil found himself staring at a small silver piece, reminded of the hairclip that Lukas never allowed out of his sight.

The vendor caught his stare, and got up from the stool they were sitting on.

"You couldn't afford any of this, boy. Move along."

Emil looked up, frowning. "I was just looking, that's all."

"hmmph. That's what they all say. Go on, be on with you."

For a moment, Emil debated arguing, then let it go.

He was caught off guard by a hand coming down on his shoulder. For a second, he panicked, thinking the owner had called a guard. Then he heard a familiar voice, and relaxed.

"See anything ya like, icey?"

Emil turned to see Matthias looking down at him, smiling. "Not really" he replied.

Matthias looked down at the table. "Wow! This stuff's really good! Lukas, come and see!" he called the others over. Lukas and Arthur were both carrying small satchels, no doubt full of their purchases. A scroll stuck out of Lukas' bag, likely the map he had wanted. Peter trailed after them, his hands covered in crumbs from the pastry he was holding.

Arthur saw his gaze, and sighed. "Don't look at me like that, boy. He wouldn't shut up, so I had to buy him that. Why children automatically turn to excess sugar I have no idea."

 _Like you haven't done far worse things than throw a tantrum when you couldn't get the stuff,_ Emil thought. He didn't say anything, though, merely turning back to the items on display, pretending to look at them.

"That one."

Emil turned to see Lukas pointing at a small piece. "Your hair is getting long, lillebrør. How about a clip? Then we'll match."

Emil's face showed exactly what he thought of _that_ idea.

After browsing for a while, during which time Lukas had to drag Matthias away from a stall selling a variety of weapons, they retired to the edge of the town. Lukas drew out the map he had found, and they began discussing their next moves. Arthur took the lead in explaining.

"This is our current location." He pointed to the map. "As far as we know, the spell has dropped all of us as near to where our characters were as possible. Going on the assumption that only those who were in the room were affected, we have a rough idea of where everyone should be." His face sharpened, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. since they were a rather prominent feature, this was quite impressive, Emil noticed.

The thought made him smile, and he almost missed the Englishman's next words.

"Given that not everyone was actually actively participating in the game, we have to take a guess on where the others may be."

Emil started. "What does that mean?" he asked.

Arthur looked up at him, surprised at the question coming from the normally reticent teen.

"Well. This is all guesswork, you realise. But I'm pretty sure I'm right with this assumption. Anyway, what I _think_ has happened is this." He looked down at the map, gathering his thought.

"The reason we are here is because of me. I will admit that. _BUT_ , because of that, I have a good idea how to get us back, as well. You see, I made this spell years ago, but I didn't ever think I would have a chance to use it." He twisted his hands together, seeming embarrassed.

"I, uh, I actually developed this spell as something of an experiment. I wasn't always the most…attentive caretaker I could have been, and I regret that, very highly. But the boys were very imaginative, and seeing them playing together gave me an idea. What if I was able to make their games come true? Not just project their imagination outwards, but to actually send them into a game of their own devising? I thought about it, and I came up with this. I suppose it must have taken me longer than I expected to craft it, however, because before I realised it, they were long grown and I had no need of it.

So when this chance came up, I thought it would be the perfect time to use it. It just happened that Alfred, insufferable though he normally is, showed an interest in the game, which he rarely does. So he asked to join in, and I let him. soon, he declared it to be…less than stellar' (they all remembered his actual words, a good deal less polite) 'and I admit I let myself get carried away. I cast the spell, and here we are." He stared down at his hands.

"So, where are the others, and how do we find 'em?" Matthias eventually asked.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Blunt as ever, Dane." He sighed. "Well, I have to admit I'm not entirely sure on that. The spell was only designed to turn the current players into their respective characters. I'm not quite certain what malfunctioned to make the spell expand to all those in the room. I suppose, when I came up with it, it was on the basis that it would only be used in the company of those who were playing, so I can only assume it worked on the basis that that encompassed all those who were currently in the room.

With that logic, all of _us_ – he gestured to the others – appeared exactly where our characters had been. For the others, I can only imagine. Lukas can explain that a little better than I can. He has more experience with alteration magic than I do."

Attention shifted to the pale blond. Lukas looked up calmly. He explained in his usual calm voice "as you know, magic works in balance with nature. We think that because of this, the spell will have tried to set everyone who was _not_ a player in as likely a setting as possible, that is, a role similar to their individual personality. While we don't know for sure who was in the room at the exact moment the spell went into effect, we've made a list of who we definitely know _was_ , and what sort of role we think would best suit them." He reached into his bag, drawing out a piece of paper. Emil recognised it as the drawing and list that he and Arthur had been scribbling the night before.

"So that's why _I'm_ here!" a voice piped up. They turned to Peter, who was licking his fingers clean of pastry crumbs. Arthur sighed. "Yes, unfortunately. By all rights you shouldn't even have been allowed in the hotel, let alone allowed to be with the rest of us. Why _were_ you there, anyway?"

Matthias coughed, looking guilty. "That's kind of out fault. See, Sve and Fin had ta come, being representatives and all. They couldn't get anyone to look after the kids, so he tagged along."

"Brilliant." Arthur glared at the child. "Any more of you we need to worry about?"

Peter thought about it. "Well, Erl was in our room, cause he said that he could play any game he wanted by himself and didn't need us, cause he's a meanie. I asked Wendy if she wanted to play, but she said no. I think she went to bed cause the time zone is really different to her place so she was 'whacked out', she said. Then Hans went to bed early cause he said he needed sleep for his art, plus Mr Austria is really strict on his bedtime, which is mean cause he's only a little bit younger than me. I'm not sure about Seb. Hutt and Molossia never come anyway, and Niko-Niko doesn't really hang out with us much. Aaaand that's it." His eyes lit up.

"Ooh, Alex was here though. He's the only one of us who's an actual country. But that will change just as soon as you recognise me because I will be too! So you just need to hurry up and recognise me as a country!" he nodded, beaming.

The others sighed. Matthias ruffled his hair endearingly. "Yeah, yeah, kiddo. One day."

"Well, I'm glad you've got that out of your system, Peter" Arthur said. He turned back to the map.

"At any rate, it's quite clear what out plan of action is. We have the list here of where we reckon our fellow representatives will be. I suggest we start _here_." He pointed to a section of the map. They leant in to see where he was pointing. It appeared to be a cave, not far from where they currently were.

"So, who are we going to find?" Matthias asked. The two members of the magic trio stared at him, waiting for the penny to drop. It didn't take long before the Dane's eyes lit up in understanding.

"Oh, I see." He said. He stood up, crossing his arms and grinning. "We're going vampire hunting!"


	4. Vampire Hunting

**Day Four, in which our favourite patriot takes everything in his stride, as usual.**

Chapter 4

Lukas glared at him.

"What? It was a joke, Nor."

The Norwegian did not look impressed. Matthias pouted. "You never let me have any fun" he moaned. He took the battleaxe out of the sheath on his shoulder and started polishing it.

"Well, I suppose he is right, in a way." All heads turned to Arthur. "I mean that in a purely literal sense" he clarified. "Hunting: seeking, searching for. Locating." He rolled up the map and tapped it absently against his arm. "We might have to wait a while, though."

Emil shot him a look of confusion. "Why?"

Lukas and Arthur shared a glance. "How shall I put it. Vlad has something of a flair for the dramatic. Knowing him, he will be using our situation to his advantage. He doesn't often get the chance to give in to his… _other_ side, as it were."

Emil stared back, unimpressed. "So, in other words, he'll be acting like the worst kind of ham excuse for a vampire."

Arthur coughed delicately. "Well, if you must put it that way, yes."

"Great. So I suppose we're just supposed to hang around kicking our heels until nightfall just so another idiot can indulge their childish side! I am so sick of this!" the teen yelled.

The adults all shared a look. _Kids, huh?_

"Don't. Just…don't."

"What is it, little brother?" Lukas asked slyly.

"Shut up." Emil glared at the adults. " _You_ might be happy with this, but I am _not_. And I doubt the others will be either! Just give me that list you made and I'll find them myself!"

Arthur gave the white-haired boy a cool gaze. "Manners, _if_ you please." His face turned serious. "That brings me to another point. It may well not be that simple."

Emil groaned. "What now?"

Arthur looked to Lukas, who nodded slightly. The blond mage sighed. "I didn't really want to have to bring this up, but it can't be helped. There's a chance, you see, that there may be a slight problem with the others." He looked uncharacteristically guilty.

"Oh? Do tell."

Another cough. "Perhaps we should leave this for later. Once we find Vlad. I- I suppose he'll want to hear it as well."

"No. Whatever you have to say, I want to hear it now."

Arthur glared at the teen. "Fine."

He took a deep breath. "The thing is, as I said before, when I developed the spell I had the intention that it would only ever be used amongst consenting company. The fact is, much as I tried to reign it in, we now have a large number of people in a world that they were never supposed to be in. As Lukas told you, we have a theory that the spell likely deposited the others in a setting close to one they have inhabited at some point in their history, but that isn't the worst of it." He looked away, frowning.

"My theory is, the more time they spend in a role that they aren't supposed to be in, the more _this_ world will work to accept them, to draw them in, as it were. We, as playable characters, created roles for ourselves – therefore, _we_ belong here. The others decidedly do _not_. This has completely disrupted the balance of this world – as fictional as it seems to _us,_ it is entirely real now- and it needs to regain that balance. To that end, it will try to force those it sees as not fitting, into something that _does_."

He looked back at them, emerald eyes flashing with emotion. "The bottom line is, the longer anyone who wasn't a player to begin with is in this world, the more they will _become_ that world. And if we don't find them soon, they will completely cast off their real selves. They will truly _believe_ that they are whatever this world thinks they should be."

There was silence for a good minute after that. Eventually, it was Matthias who spoke up.

"So, let me get this straight. All of us not _us_ is something else, and we need to find them and bring them back before they totally forget that they're not? That's about it, yeah?"

Arthur looked positively astounded at the Dane's insight. "W-well, yes. Exactly."

Matthias beamed. "So what are we waiting for then? Let's go. How long d'you reckon we got before they're all stuck?"

Arthur looked towards Lukas, helplessly. "Uh, around a week, I would say. Give or take. Perhaps a little longer for the older nations."

Emil frowned, looking confused. "Hang on. If only those who were actually playing should remember who they are, then how do you explain me and Peter? We weren't playing, but we still know who we are."

Arthur looked to Lukas again. "To be honest, I have no idea. I admit I was rather worried about that when I saw Peter, but I can only assume it's because you're related to us. Magic must run in your blood." He peered into the teen's face. "Can you see things?" he asked. "Flying Mint Bunny, your brother's trolls, my unicorn?"

Emil tried to look nonchalant, blasé, but the faint tinge of pink to his cheeks said otherwise.

"He pretends not to. But lillebrør has got it into his head that it's something to be ashamed of. He's entirely wrong, but it's cute to see."

Emil glared daggers at his brother, his face aflame.

Arthur smiled at him, faintly condescendingly. "Well, that's good to know."

"Why would you pretend, Emil? Me and Erl see them all the time. Erl says he doesn't but that's just because he likes that conspiracy theory stuff, so he tries to say it's all fake. But it's not, and he knows it. But they won't hurt you, you know." Peter was staring at his cousin innocently, looking puzzled.

"Actually, Peter, that isn't entirely true. They're creatures, the same as you and I. Not all of them are friendly. Don't antagonise them. Some have quite a nasty bite, the little bug- uh, devils." He corrected himself quickly, looking at the child sternly.

"Ok!" Peter chirped. He grinned up at his brother. "I know what you were going to say, though. You really shouldn't swear so much, you know. Papa says swearing is bad. Dad says it means you can't think of something nice to say, and if you can't say anything nice then you shouldn't say anything" he stated firmly.

"Then he'd never speak again!" Matthias guffawed. He ruffled Peter's hair, having apparently finished polishing the axe. "Seriously, Petey, you're asking a bit much there."

Peter looked up at his uncle, breaking into giggles. "That would be cool!" he said. The two kept giggling together, and even Emil and Lukas couldn't stop a faint smile.

Arthur looked thoroughly annoyed, glaring at the rest with his eyebrows drawn together threateningly.

"Very funny. Now if you're _quite_ finished!"

They calmed down, reluctantly.

"Right. Now, we have at least a few hours until sunset, by my reckoning. With that in mind, I suggest we take the boy's suggestion and start looking for the others."

Emil bristled at Arthur's dismissive tone, but kept quiet, contenting himself with glaring back at the Englishman.

"Who?" Matthias asked. "Anyone near? I'm guessing we can't go too far."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "You'll see. If I'm remember rightly, they shouldn't be too far from us."

The others looked faintly confused, but didn't comment. Lukas looked annoyed, evidently knowing who they would be looking for.

After rolling out the map again, Arthur looked at it for a moment, muttering to himself as he thought.

"Right. Got it." He rolled it up again and placed it back in the bag.

"Follow me" he ordered. The others obeyed, reluctantly.

Arthur led them through the town, winding through the streets without hesitation. He eventually stopped outside an imposing building, framed with wood beams covered in carvings. He stopped to look at the sign outside, then nodded, leading the others in. He didn't attempt to go up to the main doors, instead taking a small alley to the side of the building.

The other end opened out into a large yard. The floor was cobbled, with channels dug out along either side that led to small drains. Men walked to and fro purposefully, some with their arms full as they carried packages from one place to another. The scent of hay hung heavy in the air, mixed with grass, earth, metal, leather and something else, all added up to one unmistakable scent. _Horses_.

The effect on the others was remarkable. Lukas and Matthias relaxed, breathing in the familiar scent deeply, letting it transport them to years gone by. Peter looked a little wary, drawing closer to Arthur unconsciously. Emil looked torn between happiness and tension, but eventually relaxed as well.

But none of them looked happier than the man standing to one side of the field. Alfred stood with his back to them, gently stroking the flank of his horse. His other hand was tangled in the mane, his face almost pressed into the hair. His pose looked utterly relaxed, as though he truly belonged here.

"Alfred." Arthur called his name softly, his face strangely gentle.

The man turned around immediately. "Artie!" he yelled. He beamed, striding towards them. "This is amazing! For once your magic actually worked! I don't know how you did it, but this is awesome! Seriously cool, bro."

He seemed to notice the others then. "Oh, hey Matthias. Awesome bro number 2? Anyone else here, or just us?"

Matthias grinned at him. "Me, Lukas and Emil. And Petey."

Alfred looked down. "Hey, kiddo! How ya doing? Annoying Arthur, I hope?"

Peter grinned. "Yep!"

"Attaboy, dude!"

Arthur frowned. "Language, Alfred!" he hissed.

The American looked confused. "Huh?" He frowned, then realised. "Oh, I get it. Gotta talk old, am I right?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "If that's what you call it."

He flapped a hand at him. "Whatever. Anyway, it's cool you're here. I gotta say I was totally shocked when me and Mattie woke up here, cause it was real strange and all, but then I was like, hey, I remember now, and since we were exactly where we were when we were playing I kinda figured it out, and I guess now I kinda owe you an apology, cause I always thought your magic sucked like real bad, but I guess it isn't so sucky after all! You're a real swell guy sometimes, ya know!"

Arthur bore this with remarkable patience. "Thank you- wait, hang on. _Matthew_ is with you?!"

Alfred looked confused. "Yeah. Course. Mattie was playing too, remember? He's a healer."

Arthur looked very puzzled. "was he? I don't recall seeing him in the room" he muttered.

Alfred's eyes narrowed slightly. "You never do" he accused.

"Never do what?" a soft voice enquired.

Alfred whirled around to face his brother. "Mattie! Cool timing, bro! Artie' he narrowed his eyes again ' _forgot_ you were playing too. See, Artie, here he is."

"I was always here, Al" the Canadian said.

"What?"

Matthew arched his brow. "I was in the stall. I heard you call out to Arthur." He turned to the others. "I assume this is all a result of Arthur's spell going a little out of control, but could one of you please explain exactly what is going on?"

After filling the two in, the now expanded group made their way inside, the American complaining that he needed food, as usual.

"So, let me get this straight" he said between bites. "We're all stuck in this game cause Artie can't get spells right like _ever_ , and we gotta find the others cause if we don't the magic will go all weird and they'll forget who they are?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes. I'm surprised. You aren't quite as dense as you appear, Alfred."

"Wow, Artie, I'm touched. Thanks." Alfred look annoyed, but forgot the insult, reaching across the table for a platter.

Matthew frowned at his brother, then spoke up, looking thoughtful. "So you said we're going to find Rom-eh, Vlad, next, yes?" he stumbled, remembering to use their human names.

"Right. We think he'll have Alexandru with him as well. He wasn't a player, but since he's with Vlad we think he'll be alright. Peter and Emil weren't playing either, but as far as we can tell, those who have a family tie to a player are all right as well."

Matthew nodded. "That makes sense."

"Does it? Bro, none of this makes sense. I'm not complaining though. This means all I gotta do is go in and rescue everyone, right? Cause I'm the hero!" Alfred laughed.

Matthew rolled his eyes. "And you wonder why I chose to play as a healer" he muttered, just loud enough for the others to hear.

"Not cool, bro."

Matthew smirked slightly, making the others smile. They went over the details of the plan again, Matthew adding his thoughts on the list they had made of the likely roles.

They spent the time until sunset chatting, Alfred taking Peter out to see the horses when the boy grew bored with the conversation. They returned just as their shadows were beginning to lengthen.

They had a leisurely dinner, then, with the moon on the rise, set off to find the last member of the magic trio.

* * *

 _A/N I know the explanation sounds contradictory at the moment. All will be explained soon. Up next: our favourite vampire finally makes his appearance (fashionably late, I know) and Alfred shows a surprising grasp of magical theory..._


	5. Explanations (pt 2)

**Day (night) four, in which Vlad makes his appearance and Alfred amazes Arthur with logic.**

Chapter 5

It didn't take long for them to reach the cave. Whether by design or some strange coincidence, the moon was shining directly into the opening, bathing it in an eerie silver glow. Arthur sighed.

"Dramatic as ever, I see." Lukas smiled slightly. The others weren't so impressed.

"Can we just get on with?" Emil groaned.

Arthur waved his hand, gesturing to the entrance. "Go ahead then."

Emil stepped back. "No thanks. You first. He's _your_ friend."

While they argued, Lukas stepped forward, walking calmly. He disappeared into the darkness, his steps silent. Matthias ran after him, a wild grin on his face. After a moments hesitation, Peter ran forward too, clutching the corner of his uncle's cloak just in case. Not wanting to be outdone, Alfred followed them, pushing past Matthias, eager to show off his bravado.

Matthew was left listening to the other two bicker.

"Guys. Neither of you are going to be first in now" he said. Unsurprisingly, they ignored him. Rolling his eyes, he wandered into the cave as well, hurrying slightly to catch up with the rest of the group.

That left Emil and Arthur. Realising that they were now alone, they stopped arguing, pointedly not looking at each other as they made their way into the cave as well.

They made their way down a narrow passage. Someone, whether Vlad or not, had set torches into the stone at regular intervals, lighting the way. The floor underfoot was smooth, worn down by the passage of many feet. Moss and lichen competed for place on the walls, some glowing with phosphorescence, bathing the stone in a soft green glow where the light of the torch didn't reach. Emil looked around warily. Arthur didn't seem bothered, striding forward purposefully.

They soon caught up with others, standing in a group in the passageway. The cave opened out into a large cavern, it's roof lost high, high above their heads. Several smaller passages branched off from the room, some no doubt leading to other antechambers, whether for storage or some other purpose.

Alfred split off from the group, wandering over to the large table set in the middle of the room. It was laden with food, the wood groaning under the weight of the platters laid upon it. He began filling a plate, stuffing meat into his mouth absently. Arthur tutted in disgust, but the American ignored him.

Matthew, meanwhile, had walked over to a section of smooth wall, and was peering at it intently. It was a dark, almost black stone, shot through with threads of a pearly white that reflected the light like liquid. He seemed entranced by it, reaching out a hand and running his fingers over it.

Lukas turned round, and seeing Arthur, motioned for him to follow. The Englishman complied, and the two walked off down one of the passages.

"How do they know which one to choose?" Matthias wondered.

"Magic sense" Emil said sourly. "Or something." He looked around the cave in distaste. "Why would anyone want to live in _this_?" he wondered aloud.

"Ice, we stayed in caves all the time before. When you're caught out ya take shelter where ya can, ya know?"

The teen didn't look impressed. "Good for you. But we're _not_ in the middle of nowhere. We literally just walked here from a town. This is a _game_ , there's tons of towns."

"I think it's cool!" Peter piped up. "Uncle Den, why don't we get to live in a cave at home? Can we, please? Please?"

Matthias laughed. "Sure, kiddo. You and me'll go camping when we get back, how about that? Erl too, if he wants. Just, don't tell your dad, ok?"

Peter beamed. "OK!" he thought for a moment. "Erl won't want to go camping though. He'd need to charge up at night and I don't think we could take enough batteries for him. Unless we stick a solar panel on his back! That might work!"

"Caves are _dark_ , you idiot" Emil reminded him. Peter's face fell. "Oh yeah. Never mind then! It'll just be me and uncle Den. We don't need _you_ to come."

Emil raised an eyebrow and gave his cousin a disdainful glare. "Wouldn't want to in the slightest."

Peter stuck his tongue out at him. Emil glared back.

"Ok, that's enough kids!" Matthias said, smiling at them. Emil turned his glare on him instead.

"I. Am. Not. A. kid."

Matthias laughed. "Ya sure? 'cuz you're sure acting like it, Icey."

The teen's face went red, and he stared at the ground sullenly.

They were interrupted by the arrival of the magic trio, having found the last member.

Vlad somehow wore his usual red coat and dark trousers. He must have used a spell for it, since the others were all dressed in typical medieval clothing. Of course, for all except Peter that wasn't much different to the clothing they had worn throughout history.

"If I can have your attention" Arthur called. The others turned to him, surprised. He looked around, making sure everyone was listening. Alfred turned from the table, and walked back over, still carrying the plate. Arthur shot him a glare, but let it slide.

"Anyway. We've filled Vlad in on the details. I'll let him say the rest." He motioned to the other.

Vlad stepped forward. "Hey. Arthur and Lukas told me what's up. I can't really add anything to their suggestions, so while I would be more than happy to stay here' his eyes gleamed slightly, making the others shudder 'I guess we should go find the others."

"Where's Alex?"

Vlad stared at Peter. "Who's the kid?" he asked. Peter scowled at him. "I'm Sealand!" he said crossly. "Jerk Arthur won't recognise me as a country, but I _am_ one, so there."

"Oh." Vlad motioned to one of the passages. "He's asleep. Hang on." He walked off, returning a minute or later with a sleepy child in two. Alexandru rubbed his eyes, yawning widely. "Whassa matter?" he asked.

"We have guests!" Vlad said brightly. Alexandru blinked at the others. "Hello." His gaze wandered around.

"Oh, Peter's here" he said. He tilted his head, his eyes widening. "Yay!" he ran over to the micronation and hugged him.

"This is really great! Come see my room! I'll show you the whole cave!" Then, grabbing his hand, the two ran off. Vlad raised an eyebrow.

"Leave them. They'll only get in the way" Arthur said. He walked over to the table, clearing a patch. He rolled out the map and list. "We need to decide on a plan."

The others gathered around, each taking seats. Arthur looked up, his gaze roaming over each of them.

"Alright. Here's what we know so far. This is our current location' – he pointed to the map, making a mark in pencil –'and these are the points we've already scouted." He made a series of crosses on the paper, striking their own names from the list.

"Now, we have the ideas for what we _think_ everyone will be. What we need to do now is go over this map and start making guesses as to where they're likely to be. Of course, this assumes a static location for everyone, but it's the best we have. The logical thing to do would be to start from our current location and spread outwards, but given that we're already working with a time constraint I think it might be better to-"

"Wait, Arthur." Lukas was looking at the map, his eyes narrowed. The Englishman frowned at him, annoyed at the interruption. "Yes?" he questioned.

"I don't think we'll have to look too far." The Norwegian's eyes narrowed in thought. "Given that we assume everyone is in a position similar to one of their history, it's more than likely that some of them, at least, are together."

Arthur nodded once, a gleam of understanding in his eyes. "Families, you mean?"

Lukas nodded. "Or those who share a common border." He gestured to the list elegantly. "We could do it your way, of course. Or we could simply travel to the place with the largest concentration of people and work from there. I shouldn't think it would be too hard if we're all together."

Arthur frowned. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand" he said.

"I get ya. We're a pretty big group now. If we turn up in the largest town, we can ask some questions, describe who we're looking for, and sooner or later word is gonna spread that we're on the lookout. This game is big, but it's nowhere near as big as earth. _Someone_ is bound to have seen some of the others." Matthias sat back, looking pleased.

Alfred grinned. "Info brokers, bro! Cool idea! I bet that it'll be totally easy once we find them, you know? Like, the first is the hardest, right? I'll bet that once we've found a couple of the others everyone else will _flock_ to us! Like ducks to bread or something? You get me?"

Arthur looked stunned, an idea flashing to him. "You know, that might actually be one of the few good ideas you've ever had" he said incredulously.

"Woah, calm down dude! It was just an expression!" Alfred looked embarrassed, as much as he ever could.

Arthur smiled tersely at him. "Actually, I do believe it isn't. I think you may have accidentally given me the perfect solution to get back. You really are incredible sometimes, you know. For an American, that is."

Alfred's face flushed, and he looked mortified. "uhhh, thanks. You too, dude. For a Brit, you're pretty swell."

The others' expressions ranged from faint amusement to confusion.

"Anyway" Vlad said, startling the two. "Care to elaborate on that, Arthur?"

The man in question flushed. He cleared his throat. "Yes, well. It's like this. Since the others aren't supposed to be here in the first place, we're working on the assumption that they will all be suffering from a form of magical amnesia, correct?" They nodded, slowly.

"You think that if we can get them to remember who they are, it will cause a similar disruption in the balance of this world, is that it?" Lukas asked softly. Arthur nodded. "Exactly. So as Alfred so cluelessly suggested, causing a deliberate disruption could very well draw the others to us, subconsciously."

"Like a rubber sheet" a quiet voice said. They turned to Matthew, who had a pensive expression.

"What?"

He looked up, seeming startled that they had heard him. "Eh, I, it's like a rubber sheet. When you put a weight on it, it draws everything else to it, like gravity. I don't know how your magic works, but perhaps the more of us we find, the greater the imbalance, and the more we'll be able to find the others? You said this world somehow knows that people aren't supposed to be here, so perhaps it will sort of, I don't know, _recognise_ that and, eh, send them here, or something?" he trailed off, looking shy at having spoken so much.

Arthur's face was shocked. "That's a brilliant idea. It's a little off, but it makes perfect sense. Theoretically, it stands. If we can find the others quickly enough, there's a chance their memories will return more quickly, so triggering that _could_ send out a shockwave of sorts. It's a possibility, anyway."

"So, it's like radiation then." All attention turned to Alfred, who looked uncharacteristically serious. He ignored them, continuing.

"As players, we're protected from it, that is, the imbalance- like we're wearing hazmat suits. All the others who _aren't_ are gonna be hit full blast by it, like a shockwave. So the more of us we find and make remember, the greater the shockwave will become. If we think of it like particles, it'll attach to them and kind of, say, flood them, making them like magical, glowing beacons. That'll act like a force, pulling them to where the area of greatest concentration is – which'd be _us_. Before you know it, it builds up and up, until we have everyone back. Then that'll create a build-up of magic that you guys can harness and use to send us all back. It'll be like creating a wormhole using a black hole. Cool, huh?"

Arthur simply stared at him. "How do you come up with an idea like that?" he asked helplessly. "You never paid any attention at all when I tried to teach you the basis of magic, so how? Do you actually understand all this?"

Alfred shook his head. "Nah. It's just physics. S'not that different."

Seeing Arthur's disbelieving look, he said, somewhat defensively "What? We have some of the best scientists in the world, ok? I like to keep up with all the space stuff. It gets pretty technical and math-y, so I read up on it. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

The Englishman could only shake his head. "No," he said weakly. "Nothing wrong with that." He sat down, his look showing that he had some serious re-evaluation to do on the part of the American.

Matthias looked thoroughly confused. Lukas explained it to him quickly, switching to Danish. The Dane's face brightened as he understood.

"So, lemme get this straight. This is sort of like dominoes. Only, the dominoes are far apart, so instead of falling when they hit each other, it's like the bang of them hitting the ground sends out a wave, and that's what makes the others fall over. So when we find someone, and make 'em remember, the imbalance goes crazy and it sends out like a magical wave that hits the others and, like, shakes 'em up, and then they'll wake up too! Am I right?"

Lukas nodded. "Pretty much."

"Well, if that's all there is to it, why are we not leaving now?" Emil looked exasperated.

"Patience, Lillebrør. Now that we know it's a chain reaction, we don't need to hurry as much. Clearly, we aren't working with a time frame after all, so there's no rush. Just take some time to enjoy this." Lukas sounded stern, unamused with the teen's impatience. Emil glared at him, folding his arms crossly. "I will _not,_ " he said.

"Tough."

Arthur coughed, bringing the attention back to the table. "Well, now that we have a solid plan of action, I suggest we all get some sleep. We'll want to get a good start tomorrow, so we need as much rest as possible. Any objections?"

Emil looked as though he might comment, but stopped himself.

Vlad rose gracefully, ever the elegant host. "Well, if that's settled, you'll want to sleep, yes?"

Emil looked horrified. "I am _not_ sleeping in a cave."

Vlad shot him a look. "Come with me" he said. Looking apprehensive, but not daring to disobey, the teen followed him. Vlad led him down one of the passages, eventually coming to a stop outside a wooden door set into the surrounding stone. He opened it to reveal a well-furnished bedroom, complete with a large four-poster bed in the centre of the room. A sunken depression in the far corner of the room was full of water, steaming slightly, fed by a waterfall that ran down the stone from a point in the ceiling. Another door was set into one wall of the cave, hinting at another room.

"here" Vlad said. "All yours."

Emil looked incredulous. "How…"

Vlad simply grinned. His eyes flashed red in the darkness. "Appearances" he explained. "Got to keep them up!"

Matthias pushed past him, he and Lukas having followed them. "Wow. This is great! You know, you're pretty amazing. I had you pegged as some kind of vampire wannabe, but you're not bad!"

Vlad bowed theatrically. "I try."

Lukas merely nodded at him in thanks. Vlad returned the gesture. "I'm sure Arthur will wake us all up when the sun comes up, so I'd get some sleep now. Night!" Saying that, he turned and shut the door, leaving the three alone.

Emil immediately made a beeline for the other door, gasping in surprise as he saw another room furnished exactly the same. He wasted no time in closing the door on the two, evidently delighted with the room. Lukas and Matthias shared a glance.

"Well, it's good to see him happy" Lukas remarked, deadpan. Matthias grinned at him. "You bet!" he glanced happily at the bed, then the pool.

"I don't know about you, but that bath looks real good to me. Wanna join me?"

Lukas' faint smile was all the answer he needed.

Elsewhere, Vlad showed Alfred and Matthew to a similar room.

"I have to ask, why were you staring at the wall earlier?" he asked the Canadian. Matthew stared at him, shocked. "Y-you noticed?" he stammered. "I was just admiring the geology. It was pure ebony, wasn't it? And was that a moonstone vein running through it?"

Vlad shrugged. "No clue. It's all rocks to me. If you wanna hack away at it, be my guest."

Matthew smiled. "Thank you!"

Vlad looked vaguely amused. After showing them their room, and telling them the same as the others, he wandered back to find Arthur still poring over the map and list.

"You should sleep too, you know" he said. The Englishman looked up briefly, then turned back to the paper. "I will, in a bit" he replied absently. Vlad looked at him curiously.

"Were you really that surprised with the boy's insight?" he asked.

Arthur's head jerked up. "No! Well, yes" he admitted, sinking back down again. "He's never shown that much interest before. He doesn't have any magical talent, you see, so when I realised he couldn't see the things I could I stopped teaching him." He looked down at his hands, his face rueful. "I suppose to me he's still the young boy I cared for for so long as a colony. But he really is beginning to grow up now, isn't he?" he spoke more to himself than Vlad.

"Meh. 'Dru is a country in his own right, but that doesn't stop him from acting like a child. Especially when he wants something from me or Bul. Which is nearly all the time."

Arthur shot him a brief look, then turned back to the map. Vlad placed a hand on his shoulder, then stepped back. "Speaking of, I should go and find the little tykes. Don't stay up all night, okay?"

The blond nodded, not really listening. Vlad took that as his signal and walked off, turning down the corridor that led to the inner section of caves.

He found Alexandru and Peter curled up on a pile of straw, deeply asleep. He smiled at the sight. Rather than move them, he simply took a spare cloak from one of the storage bins and draped it over them, making sure they would be warm during the night. Then, leaving a candelabra on one of the barrels for them, he turned and made his way to his own chambers.

 _Pity I can't stay here longer, but oh well. It was nice while it lasted_ , he thought.

* * *

 _A/N poor Vlad. He did so want to play along for a while longer. Oh well, you can't have everything._

 _I did try to make the explanation as realistic or plausible as possible, given the generally accepted ideas of both magic and physics. If there's any real gaping plot hole with this, please let me know and I'll do my best. This is being proofread by the wonderfully talented and bestest little sis ever **EmiKougamine** , but as she isn't any better at physics than I am I don't know if that worked or not. _

_As always, rate, review and enjoy!_


	6. Figures From The Past pt 1

**Day Five, in which several figures appear, and the lines of history become rather blurred...**

Chapter 6

Emil was, unsurprisingly, the last to wake the next day. After being dragged out of bed by his brother, they all congregated back in the main chamber. By some magic (or perhaps simply travelling the relatively short distance back to the town) the table was again laden with fresh food. They wasted no time in digging in, and after they were all done, set off.

By general consensus, they had decided to take advantage of the many carts available for hire to save them walking to the next town. Alfred and Matthew drove the cart, the American being ecstatic to be 'riding the pony express' as he called it. Matthew simply rolled his eyes and let his brother do as he wished. Out of all of them, he _did_ have considerable experience with horses, and it certainly put a stop to his constant complaining otherwise.

Lukas, Vlad and Arthur all sat along one side, the two blonds discussing the map and list once again. Vlad had one hand on his chin and was staring out at the scenery with a look of faint boredom. His other hand kept a light grip on the back of Alexandru's oversized coat, since the child-like nation was leaning out over the side of the cart, staring around eagerly. He and Peter were engaged in some sort of conversational game, using the scenery as bases for the myriad of bandits they were convinced must be hiding in wait for them. Matthias watched them with a grin, occasionally offering comments and quips. Emil, as expected, sat staring moodily out as the landscape rolled by, thoroughly bored.

 _If I at least had my phone, or headphones, heck, even a book would be good._

As if hearing his little brother's thoughts, Lukas reached into his bag and drew out a tome, handing it over.

"Here, Lillebrør."

Emil glanced over. "What?"

"You looked bored."

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't need to. You looked bored."

"You weren't even looking at me!"

Lukas simply stared at him coolly. "Read the book, lillerør."

Sighing in annoyance, Emil reached over and grabbed it from him. _Anything to pass the time, I guess_. As he thought, it was some kind of spell tome. He flicked through the pages, unimpressed. Page after page of narrow, printed writing, interspersed with carefully-drawn diagrams, some of ingredients and creatures, some pictograms and circles that he could only assume were sigils, used for conjuring all manner of strange creatures. Emil recognised a few of them, seeing basic elements that Lukas had drawn. Some he even recognised as being the basis for those in the shows that Leon watched with the others.

The book must have been more intriguing than he thought, as he didn't look up until he felt Lukas shake his shoulder lightly.

"We're here."

Emil glanced around. They were at the outskirts of a city. Tall walls of stone surrounded them, manned at the very top by patrols of guards, some holding spears and bows. The gates in front of them were not wood, but a portcullis of a sort of dark metal that was likely iron. Looking up, he could see arrow slits around half way up the wall, as well as narrow slots a little higher that were stained underneath with a dark smear.

Emil felt a thrill of fear looking at it. _Boiling oil_. Wherever they were, this city clearly took its defence very seriously indeed. He cast a glance at the others. They didn't seem too bothered by the military overshadow. The boys were pointing at it in wonder, even, commenting in hushed tones.

"It's so cool!" Peter stepped forward to try and touch it, prompting Matthias to grab him quickly, shaking his head. Peter looked up at him, then stepped back, his face falling.

After paying the toll to enter, which was a lot higher than the others had been, they made their way inside the city.

Stalls lined the streets, as before. The difference was immediately visible. The stalls were decked with colourful awning, the vendors clothes in rich tones of red, blue, purple and all others, made of rich velvet and silk. The general style seemed to be medieval, with the men in doublets, hose and half-capes, the women in square-cut dresses that flowed out at the waist.

Emil suddenly felt rather out of place in his simple shirt and trousers. Out of all of them, only Vlad seemed like he belonged in the city, but then he had always had a flair for style regardless of the time period.

"Right. Where does anyone want to go first? No going off your own this time, we don't want anyone to get lost" Arthur warned.

"Before we split, Alfred, I shouldn't even have to say this, but will you please _try_ not to make a scene? I don't think even my spells could wipe the memory of the amount of people your usual behaviour would require."

Alfred laughed. "Don't be such a downer, Artie. Me and Mattie will fit right in, don't you worry. Come on, Matt, lets go see what type of food they got here! Hey, I'll bet we even run into some of the guys while we're at it! Everyone's gotta eat at some point, am I right?"

Arthur looked like he was going to reply, but closed his mouth again. After a moment, he simply said "Well, I suppose. But don't get into any trouble."

"Its _food_ , Artie. What could go wrong with food?"

Arthur's face said that he had many ideas, but he didn't voice any of them. He merely shook his head, allowing the two to walk off.

They watched them go, then turned back.

"Anyone else have any preference?" he asked.

Matthias looked sheepish. "I was gonna check out the weapons shops" he said, sounding guilty.

Arthur looked vaguely confused. "I won't stop you, but do you really suppose any of the others are likely to have frequented one?" he asked.

The Dane shook his head, reaching back to grasp the handle of the battle-axe.

"Nah. I just wanted someone to check this out. But I'll ask around." He chuckled. "Warriors are pretty bad gossips? Down time, away from war. Not much to do 'sides sit around and chat!"

"And you haven't changed" Lukas murmured. Matthias grinned at him, waved, then sauntered off, whistling.

"Well. Vlad, what about you?"

The vampire turned to him, smiling. "I was going to try an alchemist's, perhaps an enchanter's. _My_ kind of people." He grinned, exposing his fang slightly.

Arthur nodded. "Fine. Are you..?" the question hung in the air.

Vlad shook his head. "Nye. I won't drink. Nor will Dru." He took the child's hand, who seemed quite happy to follow his brother.

That left Arthur, Lukas, Emil and Peter. Arthur looked towards Lukas, who shrugged imperceptibly.

"Emil?"

The teen turned to them. "I don't care. Wherever has the highest chance of finding anyone. I want to get back as soon as possible."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fine. What about you, Peter?"

The boy looked up at him, shocked. " _I_ get to choose?" he asked. Arthur nodded. "In the absence of any other suggestions, yes." He shared a look with Lukas. _Children!_

"OK!" he looked around. His gaze wandered around, until he suddenly stopped, his eyes widening in surprise. "There!" he said, pointing. "It's Seb!"

Arthur squinted. "What?"

"Look, look, there!" Peter was pointing towards the church. Several figures in long white robes, each with a different coloured sash, were walking along the pathway under the arches of the building.

"Oh!" Peter gasped. "He's with both of them!" His face fell. "They must recognise him." He squinted up at his brother. "See, _his_ brothers recognise him. One day you'll _have_ to recognise me, too!"

Arthur only hummed in response, calculating.

"What are you talking about?" Emil asked, exasperated. Arthur merely grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face the trio. Emil stared at them, trying to place them. He couldn't see the details of the robes from here, so what was he supposed to be looking for?

After a moment, he realised all three figures bore the same distinctive auburn hair, in varying shades, and remembered.

"Oh, it's the Italies" he said, realising. "But why are there three of them? Who's the other?"

Peter glared at him. "It's Sebastian" he said crossly. "They say he's the youngest, but he says he's the oldest. His _proper_ name is Seborga."

"Really" Emil muttered. He didn't seem particularly impressed, but kept watching.

The three Italies made their way into the interior of the church, cutting them off from view. Arthur sighed, his face hopeful.

"Well, at least we know where they are" he said. "Now to work out how to go about making them remember."

He thought for a moment. "If the church is anything like it used to be, they won't be leaving any time soon. I suggest we go and regroup with the others and see if they've had as much luck as we have."

"The library."

"What?" Arthur turned to Lukas, who glanced back coolly. "The library. You said it yourself, the churches are presumably like they were when we were younger."

Arthur's eyes lit up in understanding. "Right. Of course, the records will be held by either the church or the local authorities. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not get into a scuffle with whoever the local bigwig is here, so the church it is."

Peter and Emil did not look thrilled, but followed their brothers without outward complaint.

The church looked even more impressive up close. Tall towers rose at every junction, steeples and bells standing to attention, no doubt placed for the best position with which to ring their sound across the city. The awnings, arches and balustrades were all carved, figures of myth and legend standing next to depictions of saints and prophets, tussling and subduing a multitude of demons and devils. All added to an exquisite display of skill, and one that had largely been lost in the world they knew.

They entered through a tall wooden door, studded with iron bolts. Rows of shelves stretched away in front of them, tables and chairs set at equal intervals along either side. A lectern stood to one side before them, the golden eagle of the stand shining in the dull light.

Lukas strode forward. He made his way along the rows, stopping in front of one seemingly at random. Arthur made no comment, but after searching the shelves for a moment, drew out a hefty tome and started reading.

Emil and Peter looked thoroughly confused. "What-"

"Shush" Lukas cut him off. "Just wait."

Emil stepped back, more puzzled. He looked down at Peter, who returned his gaze with equal bewilderment. The teen shrugged. He motioned for Peter to sit at one of the chairs. The boy did so, reluctantly. He couldn't sit still for long, however, and darted up, making his way over to the tall lectern.

He reached out his hand to touch the smooth gold of the eagle. Just as his head touched the metal, a voice rang out in the quiet of the room.

"Hey, boy!"

Peter whirled round, his face radiating surprise and guilt. "I was j-just-"

His voice trailed off when he saw who addressed him. Predictably, it was Lovino, his face furious.

"Just what? Going to steal it, you little thief?"

Peter simply stared at him. Belatedly, he realised Feliciano and Sebastian were behind their brother, the former looking worried, the latter trailing along with a look of benevolent amusement.

The boy stood stock still for a moment, his eyes darting between the three, then turned and ran back to Lukas, tugging on his sleeve insistently. "Uncle Lukas!" he hissed.

The Norwegian looked up, smiling slightly. "Perfect. Arthur."

The blond turned, smiling as well.

"Looks like we didn't have to wait long" he said. He swooped out from the shelf, pushing Peter behind him swiftly.

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" he asked smoothly.

Lovino's glare didn't relax. "Is that child with you?" he asked angrily.

Arthur nodded, his face calm. "My brother. I do apologise, Father. I haven't taught him enough manners, it seems."

Lovino huffed. "Just watch him a little more carefully, sir." His lip curled slightly at the title, taking in their less-than-noble clothing.

"I will. I do apologise."

"Lovi, don't be mean."

Feliciano hurried up to them, his face bright. "I'm sorry. My brother can be a little forceful at times. But you really mustn't touch the lectern, all right?"

Peter peeked out from behind Arthur, nodding. He looked up at the adults, puzzled. _Why isn't anyone saying anything?_ He wondered.

Feliciano looked around at them all. "Is there anything you were looking for, sirs?" he asked lightly.

Arthur smirked, but hid it with a bland smile. "As a matter of fact, yes" he said. "You see, we've been separated from some friends of ours, and we came here because we think they might have passed this way. They're quite devout, so we thought they might have stopped to pay their respects."

Feliciano's face furrowed in thought. "I don't think we have had any travellers come this way" he mused. "What do they look like, if I may ask?"

Arthur smiled. "Well, a little like yourself, actually. Although they may have changed clothes since arriving here. The thing is, we were in rather a large group, but we split up some days ago. We arranged to meet in this city, but we can't be entirely certain who has arrived here yet. Does this sound at all familiar to you?"

Feliciano looked puzzled. His eyes seemed to lose focus, as if he was recalling something. "From far away…lots of us together?" he murmured. Lovino looked at him, anger and concern flitting across his face.

"Fratellino!" he barked,

Feliciano came back to himself, shaking his head hurriedly. "I-I'm sorry. I don't think we have seen anyone like that. Perhaps at one of the inns?" he asked. "They would see more travellers than we do. I apologise." He turned towards Lovino, looking for reassurance.

"You heard my brother. Now leave, before I call the bishop." His voice was hard. He frowned, staring at Arthur with a strange look. "We can't help you." He put a hand to Feliciano's back, pushing him forward slightly.

"Wait!" Peter couldn't help calling out. "Please! You have to know! Don't leave, please!" he darted forward, out of Arthur and Lukas' reach. He ran forward to Sebastian, who looked down at him with a faintly puzzled smile.

"Sebastian! It's me, Peter! You have to remember! Me and you and Wendy and Hans and Hutt and Mol all have our club, remember? We were all going to sneak into the room after the meeting, but then Wendy said she wanted to go to bed and Hans had already gone and Hutt and Mol didn't want to play with us, but me and you were still there and I was playing the game with Arthur and you were with them' -he gestured back to Feliciano and Lovino, who were staring at him in horror –'and then Alfred complained that it was boring so jerk Arthur cast the spell, but since his magic always goes wrong we all ended up here but you three and everyone else forgot so we came to find you and you have to remember! Please!" his voice cracked, and he threw his arms around the man, hugging him close.

Caught off balance, Sebastian drew his arms around the sobbing boy, holding him close. His face, stuck in his usual genial smile, slowly fell into open-mouthed confusion. A range of emotions flew across his face, settling into amazement. He gazed down at Peter.

"P-peter?" he said.

Hearing the tone of recognition, Peter lifted his head hopefully. "Yes?"

"Peter" Sebastian repeated. His eyes shone in sudden realisation, and he hugged him closer, then drew back, kneeling down and clutching the top of the boy's arms.

"Peter, what on earth are you doing here? For that matter, what on earth am _I_ doing here? A-and all of us?"

Peter only sobbed, unable to explain, his face radiating relief. Sebastian stood, drawing him to one side as he looked at the others. Feliciano and Lovino stared back at their brother, their faces caught in confusion and a touch of fear.

Arthur stepped forward. "It's a long story" he said. "But perhaps you would care to explain the situation to your brothers first? I believe they haven't quite cottoned on yet."

Sebastian looked at his brothers. "Feli, Lovi, we know them all, remember? You won't let me and Peter into the meeting because we're only micronations. We have our own club. I'm sorry that we snuck in, but Peter insisted."

"hey!" Peter protested.

"Sorry, kiddo, but it's true" Sebastian winked at him.

Feliciano and Lovino still didn't understand, their faces drawing in fear.

Sebastian sighed. "You two are the personifications of the country of Italy. Lovino, formally Romano, the south, capital Rome. Feliciano, formally Veneciano, the capital Venice. I am Seborga, a principality and hopefully one day recognised for my independence. We have three cousins, Vatican City, San Marino, and Sicily. We are the only surviving descendants of Roma, the city of Rome and head of the Roman Empire. Does that clear things up for you?" he stared at his brothers, his face hopeful.

Feliciano and Lovino clung to each other, terrified. Their gaze turned inwards, eyes lightening slowly as the memories returned to them. They let go of each other, then turned to the others, their expressions returning to their normal state. Feliciano looked puzzled, but smiled, while Lovino glared at Arthur.

"This is your fault then, bastard" he stated.

Feliciano looked shocked. "Lovi! You can't speak like that, we're in a church!" he said. Lovino tched at him. "yeah, right. Neither of us has been in a church for centuries. At least not like _this._ " He gestured to the robes.

"I _liked_ this" Feliciano pouted.

Lovino didn't look impressed. "They were annoying then, they still are now. It is a _dress_. And I have had _enough_ of dresses." He glowered, remembering their childhood.

"And you!" he stormed over to Sebastian, who regarded his older brother calmly. He looked down at him, smirking slightly to see that Lovino still had to look up at his baby brother.

"Don't even give me that look, _idiota fratellino_. You shouldn't even be here. And _him_ " he gestured to Peter, who shrunk back behind Sebastian, but stuck his tongue out at the Italian.

"Someone tell me what the hell is going oh, eh?" He spun around and glared at Arthur, who returned the gaze coolly.

"What is all this noise about?" a voice asked, sounding displeased.

Lovino whirled round again to see two figures enter the church, both dressed in heavy suits of armour. One was tall and blond, the other slightly smaller and with shockingly white hair. The blond one was the one who had spoken, his face stern.

"Oh, its _you_ " Lovino muttered. "Perfect." He stomped over to stand next to Feliciano, who looked between his brother and the two figures with a torn expression. Lovino arched an eyebrow, glaring at his brother, and jerked his head in their direction.

"You tell them" he whispered harshly.

Feliciano gulped, trying to calm his nerves. He smoothed his hands on the front of his robes, evening out the long sashes. He stepped forwards gracefully, placing his hands together as though praying.

"It is nothing to worry about, Commander Beilshmidt, General . These men are looking for their friends, and we have done the best we can to help them. They will be leaving soon to find the rest of their party. You must go and change, quickly. You must be eager to be out of your armour after a mission. I hope everything went well for you?" his face flushed slightly, a hint of pink rising to his cheeks as he looked at the two men.

Ludwig looked flustered, but nodded sharply. "Of course. We must go the chapel for cleansing. We will leave you to your duty. Come on, _bruder_. Do as Father Feliciano said. We should not disturb them any longer."

Feliciano nodded once. " _Benedicite_." He lifted his hand, making the sign of the cross in front of them.

Ludwig bowed, then took two steps back and turned sharply, walking out of the room. Gilbert followed, turning his head back slightly to stare at the group, his red eyes narrowing slightly as if in suspicion. The door closed behind them, leaving the group in silence.

As soon as the door shut, Feliciano shuddered, drawing in a deep breath. He turned back to the others.

"That was scary!" he exclaimed, his voice shaky.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Will they be back?" he asked. Feliciano shook his head. "No. All knights have to go to the chapel after a mission to be blessed for their sins."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, questioning. "In case they have killed" Feliciano explained. He looked at the group, his eyes lightening as he realised.

"Oh! You want us to go to the chapel to see them!" he said. His face fell. "I suppose we could all go. But you would only be allowed into the main church. The knights have their own chapel for blessings and services. Only the priests are allowed inside with them."

Lovino rolled his eyes. "And what do you think we are, _idiota_?" he asked, exasperated.

Feliciano's face lit up. "Oh yeah! We can go there!" He bit his lip. "But how are we supposed to, uh…" his voice trailed off.

Arthur stepped forward. "I think it's high time for explanations. It's like this.."

He explained the situation, leaving nothing out. At the end of it, all three Italians looked a great deal less confused, although Lovino didn't look any less furious than usual. On the contrary, he glowered at Arthur, his gaze livid.

"So it's all _your_ fault, again, bastard" he spat.

"Lovi, that's not nice" Feliciano chided.

"Its true! If that idiot didn't insist on showing of his stupid useless magic in the first place we wouldn't be in this stupid pace anyway!"

"W-well, that's true, but I'm sure he knows how to get us back, don't you, eng-uh, Artur?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes. I believe so. Actually, for once Alfred is better at explaining this than I am."

"Alfredo is here? And Matteo?" Feliciano smiled. "Who else?"

"The stupid Dane" Lukas said quietly. "We don't know who else. We assume it was everyone who was in the room at the time."

Feliciano nodded. "I don't remember who else was there. I was sitting with Luddy, Gil was next to him. Then, uh, big brother Toni and Francis, I think. Lovi?"

Lovino scowled, but nodded. "Si. Both of them."

Feliciano turned to his younger brother. "Sebastian? Did you see anyone else? You really shouldn't have been there, you know."

Sebastian simply smiled at him. "I don't remember. I was with the kids." Peter made a sound of protest, but didn't comment.

"Alright. I'll show you the list we've made, anyway. Maybe you'll be able to remember something we can't" Arthur said. "How long until you can go and talk to the krauts?"

Feliciano frowned at him, but didn't comment. "I'm not sure. They have to go to their training room to report first. Perhaps an hour, two maybe?"

Arthur nodded. "Fine. Now that we know they're here, we don't really need to stay. I say we go and meet up with the others and reconvene in the evening. Will you three be alright to make your excuses and leave?"

They nodded. "Si. We can say we felt sick and have to miss evening prayers, and then leave."

"Alright. Do you have plain clothing?" he asked. They all nodded again. "Good. Leave when you can, then, and come and find us at the inn. Just ask around for us."

"Si. We will."

Arthur nodded, satisfied. He turned to put the book he had taken back on the shelf.

The sound of the door opening made them all turn back to the entrance. Ludwig and Gilbert stood in the door, dressed not in armour, but robes. Gilbert wore a plain back gown with a half cape edged in white and plain lace-up black boots. A cross glinted at his collar, strung on a plain silver chain, and he had a wooden rosary slung around his hips.

But it was not that that made Feliciano's face go as pale as his robes. It was the uniform Ludwig wore.

A heavy black cloak, edged in gold. A white shirt, hidden by a brilliantly white cravat, ruffled perfectly. Tight black pants, tucked neatly into a pair of brown boots. And on top of the perfectly slick blond hair, a stiff, peaked black hat, again edged in gold.

The uniform of a ghost. The uniform that Feliciano had seen so many times, the cloak that had covered him when the owner so tentatively leaned in on that final farewell. The hat that he had seen removed only rarely, showing the same bright blond hair. A pair of piercing blue eyes, the same and yet so different, staring sternly and proudly ahead.

Ludwig Beilshmidt stood tall and stoic, and nothing in his face or bearing gave any indication of the fact that he looked, for all the world, as though reborn in the long-dead form of the Holy Roman Empire.

* * *

 _A/N please don't hate me! I absolutely *adore* grown up Luddy in HRE's uniform. I'm sorry Feli. I hate to hurt you like this, but this was one of the very first scenes I had in mind for this story. My personal headcanon will be explained in the next chapter. Please note this is only_ my _interpretation of the characters, so if it doesn't fit with your idea, please don't flame me for it. We are all entitled to our own opinions and each one is just as valid as any other._


	7. Figures from the Past pt 2

**Day five (continued): In which hints are dropped and Al does something rather stupid.**

Chapter 6

For a moment, Feliciano stood stock still, paralysed.

Then, as if losing all strength, his hands reached out, clutching onto his brother, and he almost fell. Lovino steadied him, holding him tight. He looked forward, puzzled. Seeing Ludwig's uniform, he inhaled sharply, glowering furiously.

Seeming not to notice, Ludwig strode forward.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

Feliciano simply stared at him. His mouth moved, forming words that no-one else could see. Only Gilbert could read the unspoken words on the man's lips, and what he saw made him reel back. He stared at his brother sharply, then stepped back, drawing in a sharp breath. His hand rose unconsciously to his head, his eyes narrowing as if in pain. He blinked a few times, shaking his head slightly as the effects of the spell were lifted and the memories came rushing back.

" _West,"_ he breathed.

Ludwig turned to look at his brother, confused. "Pardon? Did you say something, _bruder_?"

Gilbert shook his head, disbelief written across his pale face.

"Nothing. I think perhaps ita-uh, Feliciano, isn't feeling well. We should leave him with his brothers, ok? They can take care of him. We only stopped by to say we'll be at the chapel for the next few hours, so we'll miss the evening sermon, alright?"

His eyes signalled frantically to Feliciano, who only nodded dumbly. Taking that as assurance, Gilbert grabbed his brother's arm and wheeled him around, practically forcing him out of the door.

As soon as the two had left, Feliciano fell to the ground, his legs giving out. He sat on the floor, his breath coming in fitful gasps. Tears streamed down his face, although he didn't seem to notice. His eyes were dull, faraway, and his expression was a mixture of disbelief, confusion and shock.

Lovino shook him roughly. "Feli! Fratellino! Vene! Snap out of it! _It wasn't him_ , do you hear me? _IT WASN'T HIM._ "

Feliciano simply stared forward, unseeing. He shook his head vaguely. "But he- he looked just like him," he whispered, his voice broken with pain and something like hope.

Lovino scowled, his mouth twisting darkly. His voice was rough when he spoke. "Sure, the clothes were the same. But that potato bastard is not the same. Do you listen? He's not the same. That bastard is gone, and he's never coming back. He's as dead as Grandpa. That was just a trick or something. We aren't even in the same world, god damn it!" his voice caught in anger.

"Would you care to explain what's going on?" Arthur asked, a little crossly.

Lovino turned a glare so fierce on him that even Arthur stepped back. He shook his head roughly. "No. Ask the albino bastard, he clearly knows. So he should," he growled.

His arms tightened around Feliciano, who was sobbing quietly. He clung to Lovino, burying his face in his brother's robes. Sebastian stood to one side, his face unusually solemn. He shook his head when the others turned to him. "It's not my place to say," he said simply.

Realising that they weren't going to get anything else out of the three, they decided to leave to find the others. Sebastian and Lovino promised (the latter somewhat reluctantly) they would find them in the inn as soon as they were able to leave.

They made their way back into the streets. Lukas suggested that they go and find Matthias, saying laconically that if he didn't go and fetch him then there was a high chance that 'the stupid Dane will stay there all day, discussing weapons and challenging idiots just as stupid as he is'. Fearing the consequences such a match would have, Arthur hurriedly agreed, and they made the short trip there.

Predictably, they found the tall Dane outside the weapons shop, holding the battle-axe fondly, deep in conversation.

"Used it for years-oh, hey guys." He stopped mid-sentence, turning to them with a grin.

"Look, my buddy Gunther here knows everything about axes, and he says he's never seen a finer one than this! How great is that, eh Lukas?"

The Norwegian simply looked at him. "Wonderful," he deadpanned. Matthias grinned at him, waving a hand.

"Don't mind them. They don't care for the finer- ha ha- points of weaponry. Get it, finer?"

Lukas stared at him. Behind him, Emil groaned, covering his face with a hand in embarrassment. Arthur simply raised an eyebrow.

"Brilliant. I hate to spoil your no doubt _wonderful_ chat, but we've got to go now. We're meeting the others at the inn soon. I'm afraid poor Feliciano is in quite a state, for some reason."

Matthias looked confused for a moment, then his face lit up. "Oh, so ya ran inta some of the others, huh? That's great!" he exclaimed.

" _I_ found them!" Peter objected.

Matthias smiled at him. "Did ya, kiddo? That's great."

Peter beamed. "I ran up to Seb and he didn't know who I was but I told him everything and then he remembered. Then the angry one came over and ruined everything. Then the nice one saw Uncle Gil and Uncle Luddy, who looks even more like Papa when his hair's all down but he doesn't have glasses. But Uncle Luddy was wearing all black and I don't know why but it made Uncle Gil go really pale. And he's really really pale anyway so he must have been really scared and I didn't understand. So we're all going to meet up now and they're going to leave after Uncle Luddy does something called a 'cleansing' which I think is like prayers, and then we'll go and find all the others and then we can go home!"

Matthias took all this in his usual manner, smiling at his nephew. "Is that right?" was all he said. He looked to the others for an explanation.

"We'll explain it all there" Arthur stated. "It's not a conversation to be had here."

"Alright." Matthias turned to the shopkeeper, who was staring at them with faint suspicion.

"Sorry, seems like I gotta go. You have a great shop here. Glad to meet a fellow who appreciates the axe!" he said.

The shopkeeper gave a nod. "You too," he said gruffly. "Come again. Good to see such a fine weapon. Take good care of it and it'll take care of you."

"Oh, it has. Many times. Good talking to ya!"

Goodbyes done, the group turned again, this time to the inn. They debated going to find Vlad and Alexandru, but decided against it. He would make his own way to the inn, probably at sundown. After all, out of all of them, he did have the most distinctive image.

The inn was, as usual for a city of this size, in the middle of the central square. The familiar large wooden sign hung outside, decorated with a picture of a knight slaying a dragon. To the left of the square was a blacksmiths, the sign hung with the typical hammer and anvil. The other side led to the main street, with stalls selling everything from food and vegetables to jewellery and trinkets, as well as lined with shops dedicated to more personal items, such as tailors and cobblers. T

They decided to go into one such shop, coming out with rather finer clothes all round. Emil couldn't help a sigh of relief, glad to be in more fitting clothing. Lukas looked much the same as he had for centuries, having found a hose and doublet in his usual shade of dark blue. Matthias had elected to stay in his normal clothes, stating that as a warrior he hated all the finery of the upper classes. "'s all scratchy and tight, know what I mean?"

They eventually made it to the inn, where they found Alfred deep in conversation with a group of men, gesturing wildly. The flush on his cheeks and slight glaze to his eye showed that he had already drunk several mugs of ale, no doubt spurred on by the goading of the men. To his side, Matthew sat with his own, barely touched, mug, with a look of faint annoyance and boredom. He jumped up when he saw the others, and hurried over to them.

"Arthur, thank goodness you're here. Can you talk some sense into Al? He won't listen to me at all." He turned to look at his brother, his face worried. "You know we're both underage, at least normally. But things are a little different here, so they've been challenging him. And you know what a show-off boast he is for _that_."

Arthur nodded. "Has he now?" His eyes gleamed dangerously. He strode over to Alfred and the group of men.

"Hello, gentlemen. Care if I join you? Only we've been travelling all day, and it's rather thirsty work. You don't mind if I finish this, do you, Alfred?" his voice was jovial, but with a thread of steel that made Alfred gulp. Shuddering slightly, he slid the mug over, hiding his face.

Arthur put a hand on the American's shoulder, his fingers clutching just tight enough to make Alfred wince. He didn't need another hint to know that Arthur would be giving him the lecture of his life later on. He sighed dejectedly.

"What's the matter, boy? Drink up, we're all friends here!" Arthur said brightly. Alfred flinched, hunching his shoulders. "I don't think I want any more" he muttered.

Matthew couldn't quite hold back a smirk. "I knew it," he said smugly. He leaned in to the others. "I bet Al doesn't even like the stuff. To be honest, it tastes awful, but the fool just can't back down from a challenge or refuse someone, so he would have just knocked it back anyway. He'll be in for one heck of a hangover tomorrow, and Arthur is going to tear him out for it!"

"You have a real mean streak sometimes, don't you Mattie?" Peter asked, staring up at his cousin.

Matthew smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Sometimes." He winked at Peter, who grinned.

"So, how did you get on? Did you find anyone?" he asked, looking back up at Lukas and Emil. Matthias had wandered over to the bar, and was clutching a mug of ale, already talking with the other men.

Lukas watched him for a moment, then turned back to Matthew. "Yes, actually. The two italies, and their brother. He's one of Peter's friends," he said, speaking quietly.

Matthew raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? That's brilliant. I take it they aren't here now?" he asked.

Lukas shook his head. "They're in the church. Ludwig and Gilbert too."

Matthew dearly hoped the flush that rose to his cheeks wasn't visible in the dim light of the inn. "Gil is here?" he asked, trying to sound casual. Lukas raised an eyebrow, smiling ever so slightly. "Yes. they'll be here as soon as they can leave without suspicion. We expect them to meet us some time in the evening, after prayers."

Matthew nodded. "Sounds good. Anyone else?"

Lukas shook his head. "No. Only them."

"Ok. Well, if Arthur's theory is right, five of us should be enough to trigger enough of an imbalance to cause a disturbance, so hopefully we'll find the rest of us before long."

Lukas nodded. "Now we wait."

They spend the next few hours talking, having rented a set of rooms. Peter elected to stay with Matthias, fascinated with the stories his uncle was telling. Lukas shot the Dane a warning glare, but allowed it. He sent Emil downstairs at one point, asking him to bring up a plate of food. The teen complied, somewhat annoyed. He spent most of the time staring out of the window, which overlooked the street. If nothing else, it was useful as a lookout.

Eventually, he spotted the trio of auburn-haired brothers making their way down to the inn. "They're here," he stated.

Lukas and Matthew looked up from their discussion. "Who?"

"The Italies. And the Germans are behind them."

"German and _Prussian,_ " Matthew murmured. Lukas shot him a coolly amused glance, making the Canadian blush again.

"I-I just meant…oh, never mind. Let's just go down and greet them." Matthew stood up and opened the door. They heard his footsteps going down the stairs, and turned to each other, sharing a look.

"What? You and Den are hardly subtle, _big brother,_ " Emil said. Lukas shot a glance at him. He didn't reply, instead sweeping out of the room and going down the stairs.

Alone in the room, Emil sighed.

"Am I the only one here with any sense?" he asked the silence. Rolling his eyes, he sighed. He closed the door behind him when he left, not looking forward to the evening.

* * *

 _A/N So there we go. The explanation is next. As to Gil, well, I'll leave it up to you what Feli whispered. It was enough to snap him out of it, anyway._

 _On another note, where are my PruCan shippers? It's only hints, but I can't_ not _include it. They're just too darn cute together, dammit._


	8. Music is the Food of Love, After All

**Day (evening) Five: In which a theory is explained, drinks are had and one Italian uses a tried and tested method of breaking a spell.**

Chapter 7

The Italians entered the bar, looking around for the others. They were all dressed in the same plain white shirts and brown trousers tucked into simple leather boots. Feliciano had a cloak of rough brown material as well. He still looked slightly dazed, but managed to summon his usual smile, although a little shaky. Lovino pushed him forward until they stood in front of the others.

Matthew immediately stood up, allowing Feliciano to take seat. He ignored the little Italian, however, his gaze staring ahead to where Ludwig stood with Gilbert.

"Birdie?"

Gilbert stared forward. Matthew nodded, smiling. "Yeah" he said softly. "It's good to see you."

"For goodness sake, go upstairs" Emil muttered snarkily. Matthew flushed. He turned his body sideways, motioning with his head to the door. Gilbert took the hint, and the two disappeared upstairs to one of the rooms.

"Well, that's two stupid lovebirds dealt with", Lovino commented. "So, what's the deal. Why the hell are we in a shithole like this, and how the hell to do we get back?"

Arthur stepped forward, seating himself in one of the chairs. "I'll explain. Try and stay civil, would you? Here, hold this." He thrust the mug into Lovino's hand, who took a cautious sniff of the liquid and recoiled swiftly, pushing it as far away from him as possible.

"No thank you. Give it to the potato bastard, it's the kind of piss he drinks." He shot a glare at Ludwig, who didn't respond. Lovino frowned, suspicious. He looked at Feliciano, who was very deliberately keeping his gaze locked on the table in front of him, his hands clutching the cloak around him. He seemed to be completely ignoring the others, his amber eyes reflecting the firelight dully.

Arthur raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. "Well, it's like this" he explained the situation once again. By general consensus, he had been designated the task of relaying the situation, since it was technically his fault, after all.

Lovino grew steadily more shocked and angry while Arthur explained, his eyebrows drawing together in a dark scowl. By the end of it, he was glaring at Arthur with a look of murder, furious.

"So you expect me to believe that you were so annoyed by that idiot' -he jerked his head towards Alfred, who looked apologetic – 'complaining that you decided to cast some stupid spell and now we're all stuck in some crap idea of a game because you're stupid magic always goes stupidly wrong? And now we all have to shock each other into remembering who the hell we really are or we'll be stuck in this shithole forever? Is that it, eh?"

Arthur nodded coolly. "That's about it, yes. But don't worry. With you five having gained your senses, it shouldn't take long at all to find everyone else. The magic will draw them here. I'd bet they're already halfway to remembering now, in fact."

Lovino did not look convinced in the slightest.

"Pardon me. Could one of you tell me what on earth is going on? What is all this about magic and spells? And just who are these 'others' you're looking for?"

As one, they all turned to Ludwig, who was surveying the group with a look of faint confusion.

"My brother brought me here, but I must say he didn't see fit to tell me _why_. I assumed he simply wanted to unwind with a few mugs of ale after a mission, but I sense that isn't the case?"

Lovino turned to Feliciano. "The hell?" was all he asked.

Feliciano had sat bolt upright as soon as he heard the German's voice. He clutched the cloak even more tightly, his hands shaking. His eyes filled with tears. Slowly, he turned round, staring up at the tall blond with fearful eyes.

"L-luddy?" he asked. His voice was piteous. "Luddy, it's me. It's Feli. Y-You know me." His voice shook, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

Ludwig frowned in confusion. "I-I don't know. I feel as if I do, but…" his voice trailed off. "Who _are_ you people?"

"Someone go and fetch Gilbert" Arthur ordered to Peter. The boy nodded and ran upstairs, returning a few moments later with the two men, who looked a little rushed.

"Wha-oh." Gilbert stopped, taking in the scene immediately. He strode forward to his brother, standing in front of him. Ludwig simply stared at him, confusion writ across his face. Gilbert started speaking hurriedly, in German.

"West. Look at me. You are my little brother. I gave you that necklace you wear, the same one you gave to Feliciano when you made your alliance. You are _Deutschland_ , and I would not exist without you. _Wach jezt auf. Erinnere dich, wer du bist. Ich leibe dich, Bruder._ "

Ludwig groaned, placing a hand to his head. He closed his eyes, frowning in pain. He shook his head, as though he was trying to clear water from his ears. Feliciano didn't take his eyes off him. Unconsciously, he stepped forward, one hand rising to place against Ludwig's cheek.

"Please, Luddy. Come back to me" he whispered. A tear ran down his cheek.

Suddenly, Ludwig's hand rose, clutching Feliciano's in a bruising grip. The Italian let out a short cry of terror. Ludwig's eyes snapped open, the icy blue gazing into Feliciano's terrified eyes.

"Feli." Ludwig stared down at him, his eyes searching. Feliciano only nodded dumbly, his face still scared. Ludwig stared down at him for a long moment, then raised his head, taking in the group.

" _Mein gott._ What the hell is going on here?" he asked. "Bruder, why are you all dressed like that? Is this some kind of joke?"

Feliciano gasped in shock, bursting into tears. Uncaring of the fact that they were in the middle of the room, he launched forward and threw his arms around Ludwig, sobbing uncontrollably. Ludwig's hand went to his back immediately, the other stroking the auburn locks soothingly. He stared over at the others.

"Could someone _please_ explain what is going on?" he asked.

Gilbert took his arm, steering them into a seat. Feliciano wouldn't let go, however, so they arranged the chair so that Ludwig could draw him into his lap away from view of the rest of the inn.

"You're not gonna believe this, little bro."

Ludwig listened to his brother's explanation in silence, his eyebrows rising higher in disbelief. He looked to Arthur once Gilbert had finished, his face unimpressed.

"Is this true?"

Arthur nodded, annoyed. "Of course. What on earth would it benefit me to lie about this? I _do_ take responsibility for my errors, I'll have you know."

Ludwig's face said he didn't believe that for a minute, but let it slide. "Very well. So your theory is that once we find everyone else we will have enough of a, 'magic charge' to allow you to take us back?"

Arthur nodded. "That's the idea."

Ludwig gave a sharp now. "Very well then. I suppose our plan from here is to simply wait until this magic has drawn the others to us, then."

"Pretty much. Here, drink up." Gilbert placed a mug in front of him, which Ludwig took gratefully. Feliciano had stopped crying by this point, and sat quietly, his eyes drooping with fatigue. Ludwig motioned to his brother silently. Taking the hint, Gilbert walked around the chair and lifted Feliciano up, hefting him into his arms effortlessly. Lovino glared at him.

"What? Don't give me that look, ita-cakes 2. I'm just gonna take him to a bed. He's dead on his feet. You can even come up with me if you want." He smirked. "I ain't gonna molest him, if that's what you're worried about. Birdie would have my hide if I did. Not that I'd want to, anyway." He winked at Matthew, who flushed bright red.

Gilbert carried Feliciano upstairs, placing him down carefully on the bed. He sat back on the chair, waiting for the little Italian to wake up.

After a moment, Feliciano stirred, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He didn't look at Gilbert.

"I'm sorry," he said, barely audible.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, but didn't speak. He waited until Feliciano was ready to speak again.

"I don't know why I reacted like that. I-it was just a bit of a shock, I think, seeing him like that. I-it brought back a lot of memories."

 _In more ways than one,_ Gilbert thought.

He sighed, steepling his hands on the table and leaning his head on them. His red eyes fixed with Feliciano's amber.

"You know it wasn't him, though, right? I don't know how Arthur's spell messed up like that, but it did." He stared down at the floor. It was a long time before he spoke again.

"Arthur said that this all happened because of the spell, yeah? Something about us not supposed to be here, so the magic just kinda made us fit a role that, I dunno, fit in with this whole world's setup, you get me?"

He didn't wait for an answer, but continued "I play a lot of games when I get bored, so I know a bit about all this. You've got your basic warrior, healer, mage and that stuff. That's Matthias, the white-haired kid, Arthur and Lukas, and I guess vamp. Although he's more likely to play to type, knowing him. Anyway, as well as your normal roles, you can have churchy type ones as well. Cleric, cleric warrior, priest and that. My guess is that I was a cleric warrior 'cuz I was Teutonic Knights before I was Prussia. You and your brothers were cast as Clerics 'cuz you spent so much time being church types. I mean, you even had the same robes and all."

He took a deep breath, his hands tightening until his knuckles were almost white. "My only guess is that Luddy looked like… _him_ because Luddy never lived through a time like this world. He was born after the unification of Germany, way after my dad and your grandpa were gone. You know that. So it just, I don't know, made him wear it like a costume. It was a sick mess-up, whatever caused it."

He looked up, into Feliciano's tearful eyes. His voice was hard as he said "you remember what happened. After Francis- after I got the news, I was on my own for years. Most of Europe hated me at that point, anyway. I shut myself off, and left everything to the others. After…it happened, there was so much confusion with us all, everyone fell back into being their own states. Luddy wasn't born until after the unification. He was born as the single representation of the united Germany. Do you understand, Feliciano?"

Feliciano nodded, his face pale. "So he doesn't…" he whispered, trailing off.

"No" Gilbert said quickly. "He doesn't have any memories of anyone from then. Not Holy Rome, not Germania, nothing. He _may_ have some memories, but it would be like dreams, or hints. You saw him then, he had no idea what that uniform meant, to him or either of us. And I intend to keep it that way," he said harshly. "Holy Rome was _my little brother_ , and I will _never_ tell Ludwig that. For his own sake, he _cannot_ know."

Feliciano nodded frantically. "Si, si, si. I won't ever tell him. Never. I couldn't-I couldn't tell him that. To him, Holy Rome' -he stumbled over the name, his voice hitching- 'Holy Rome is just someone I knew as a child. Nothing more. I won't tell him anything else."

Gilbert nodded. "Good. Now, I've gotta get back down, or Birdie will wonder where I am. And your brother will kill me."

Feliciano actually managed to smile at that. "Lovi. I have two brothers, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah. Well, the angry one then. You gotta talk to him about that some time. It's not good to be so mad all the time."

"Mmm!" Feliciano giggled lightly, his mood switching back to his usual happy self.

Satisfied, Gilbert opened the door and motioned for Feliciano to go downstairs. The little Italian complied, rushing down the steps with his usual carefree speed. Gilbert closed the door and followed at a more discreet pace.

Once in the main room again, he walked over to Matthew, who shot him a curious glance. "It's all good. Just clearing something up" he answered in response. Matthew frowned, but didn't press the matter. Lovino glared at the albino, but turned to Feliciano.

"Care to say what took so long, huh? Thought you were gonna go to sleep or something" he said.

Feliciano shook his head. "I'm all good now." His stomach rumbled loudly, and he flushed. Jumping up, he made his way over to the bar, receiving a bowl and mug. He carried it back over to the table and sat down. He made a face at the stew, but dug in anyway, looking around curiously. He waved away Ludwig's concerned look with a bright smile, refusing to offer an explanation. Ludwig shook his head, sighing, but let it pass.

With the explanations out of the way, the talk turned casual. Outside, the night grew dark, and the bar began to fill as patrons, workers and travellers entered in search of food, ale, wine and a bed for the night.

Vlad entered late in the evening, a sleepy Alexandru cradled over his shoulder. He made his way over to the group, smiling.

Arthur looked up at his entrance, one eyebrow raised in inquiry. "You took your time. What happened to not indulging your baser nature? I do hope you haven't taken advantage of any poor soul out there."

"Nye. All animal, I promise. The taste leaves a lot to be desired, but I _do_ have standards." Vlad grinned, shifting the child in his arms. Alexandru opened his eyes slowly, blinking in the dim light. Seeing everyone, he gave a sleepy wave, then nestled back into his brother's shoulder. Vlad smiled and dropped a light kiss on his dark hair.

"I'll take him up to bed. Hi, people. Good to see you all." He made his way upstairs, Lukas having pointed the way. He looked to Matthias, his gaze probing. The Dane nodded, and went outside. As before, Peter had grown bored with the adult's conversation and pestered Sebastian to go and stargaze with him. Matthias returned with him a few minutes later, the boy looking annoyed.

"But I'm not sleepy!" he protested. He couldn't hold back a yawn, however, which rather contradicted his protest. Arthur glanced at him. "Bed. Now."

Peter grumbled slightly, but complied. Matthias went up with him, returning a few minutes later.

"Both of 'em are asleep. I left a candle on the table for 'em in case they wake up." He nodded at Vlad, who returned the gesture.

"So, what next?" he asked the group.

Lukas shrugged delicately. "Not much we can do. The inn is full now, so some us will have to find accommodation elsewhere."

"No problem. We gotta stay here, though, for the kids. Sorry, guys."

Gilbert waved a hand carelessly. "Nah, we'll be fine. Me and Birdie will find somewhere. Eyebrows, you can even tag along if you want. Don't want you yelling at me for something."

Arthur looked affronted. "Matthew is a grown man. I trust him to make his own choices, however…questionable they may be."

Gilbert laughed. "Here that, Birdie? Your old man says I'm 'questionable'."

Matthew merely smiled.

Alfred looked vaguely puzzled. "Hey, Artie, how come Mattie gets to choose a dude? What about me? Don't I get a little trust?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow at him. "No. I don't trust you at all. You're far too childish."

Alfred pouted, his face angry. "Not cool, dude. I am totally responsible! I go to meetings and everything!"

Arthur didn't look impressed. "You also tried to cure a cold by placing a hamburger on my head, if I recall correctly."

"That was one time! How was I to know what a cold was? I've never had one!"

"Sure, sure. My point being, as far as I'm concerned, Matthew is by far the more mature of you two. I trust him not to do anything foolish. In the unlikely event that you _do_ choose to enter into a relationship, I will of course support you. But I very much doubt you'd find someone to put up with you."

"Says you," Alfred muttered.

The rest of the group listened to exchange with amusement. _They never change_.

The arrival of a newcomer was entirely lost on the group. Unnoticed, the man walked up to the bar, asking for and receiving a mug, which he took to a corner of the room, sitting down on an empty stool. Only Lovino noticed, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

The stranger was carrying a plain wooden guitar, which he slung across one knee, strumming the strings gently. He looked over to the barman, his face light.

"May I play something for the room?"

The barkeeper shrugged. "'s fine by me. Know anything good?"

The stranger nodded. "Si." He began playing lightly. His music caught the attention of the room slowly, as the drinkers turned to appreciate the skill of the playing.

The light caught the man's face, revealing him to the room. Lovino groaned and banged his head against the table.

"Brilliant" he muttered angrily. "Just what we need. Toni the stupid singing idiot." He turned his face down, blocking his ears unsuccessfully.

The Spaniard didn't notice the annoyance, and kept playing. Once he had played a few bars, he began singing, his rich voice filling the room. Feliciano looked at his brother, giggling as he saw Lovino's hands slowly uncovering his ears to listen. He raised his head slightly, glaring at Feliciano when he saw the other smiling at him.

"Shut the hell up, _idiota_."

Feliciano giggled again. "Go," he whispered.

"What?"

Another giggle. "He hasn't remembered yet. Go, make him remember."

Lovino glared at him, wondering. "What the hell am I supposed to do, huh?"

Feliciano's face fell. "Uh, I don't know. Dance? He likes your dancing."

"And how the hell would you know that, bastardo?"

"He told me," Feliciano said smugly.

Lovino looked shocked. "The hell he did. When?"

"Not telling."

"I hate you, little brother." Lovino turned away pointedly. Unfortunately, this meant he only met Sebastian's eyes instead, who looked equally amused.

"I hate you both, you bastards." Standing suddenly, Lovino strode over to Antonio, who looked up at him with a bland smile.

"Hola, friend. Would you like me to play something for you?"

Lovino tried to resist slapping him. He turned back to the group, who gave him a mixture of reactions. Lukas and Arthur merely shrugged, as if saying _your boyfriend, your problem_. Feliciano grinned at him.

Lovino rolled his eyes. Turning back to Antonio, he said in as polite a tone as he could manage,

"Si. As a matter of fact, I would. Do you know any flamenco music?"

Antonio looked puzzled. "Flamenco? Lo siento, friend, but I have never heard of that."

Lovino tried not to glare. "Oh, for gods sake" he muttered. "Follow me." He got up and walked over to the group, keeping his gaze trained firmly on the wall ahead of him.

"Meet everyone. They're our _friends_ " he growled.

Antonio looked puzzled. "Hola? I-, uh, do not quite understand. Would you like to hire me for your group?"

"Something like that" Arthur replied. "You see, we're looking for some friends of ours, and we have reason to believe one of them could be a musician like yourself. Would you happen to know anyone like that?"

Antonio looked around the group, his gaze bewildered. As his gaze roamed around, however, a faint understanding came into his eyes. He set the guitar down, absently, leaning it against the table.

"I do not know why, but somehow you seem familiar" he said wonderingly. "Have we met before, by any chance?"

Arthur smiled. "Perhaps. I think you know Lovino here the most, though."

Antonio turned to him, gazing questioningly. Lovino returned the stare, frowning. His face looked a little pale, however. He swallowed almost unnoticeably, unsure. Feliciano gave him a little push.

"Go on, _fratello_. The spell is almost worn off on him, he just needs a little push!" he whispered, urging him on.

Lovino frowned down at him. His mouth twisted as he thought. He looked around the inn, calculating. The rest of the room had turned back to their own tables, the initial interest gone now that Antonio was not playing.

"Fine."

He walked around the table to where Antonio stood. Grabbing his shirt, he pulled him into the doorway, out of view of the rest of the room. He stood on tiptoe, reaching up to twist his arms around the taller man in a tight grip. Antonio looked confused.

"What is-mmph!"

Lovino sealed his mouth, kissing him deeply. For a moment, Antonio stood stock-still, his eyes widening in shock. When Lovino didn't draw away, however, Antonio's face relaxed, his eyes closing as the last remnants of the spell fell away and he remembered. His arms wound around Lovino, holding him tightly.

Lovino broke away, his face flushed bright red. "Never make me do that again, you bastard."

Antonio simply clutched him tightly. "Lovi!" he cried. He picked the smaller man up, swinging him around. "I found you! I had this feeling, like something was drawing me here. Now I know why!"

Lovino squirmed, his face back to it's usual glare.

"Yeah, well, that was eyebrow's stupid spell. Blame him. And put me down, you bastard."

Antonio complied, grabbing Lovino's hand and pulling him into the room.

"Hola, mi amigos!" his face resumed his normal happy smile. "Lovi said something about a spell?"

Everyone looked to Arthur again, who groaned. "Look, it may be _my_ spell, but why do I have to repeat it every bloody time? This is the fourth time I've had to explain it all, for goodness sake."

"Your spell, your problem" Lovino said.

"Oh, very well" Arthur said acidly. He relayed the details to Antonio.

"Did you get all that?" he asked.

"Sort of" the Spaniard replied. "I don't really understand, but it doesn't matter. As long as nothing happens to _mi tomate_. Otherwise I would have to kill you."

Lovino elbowed him, making him cough. "Loviiiii" he whined. "It was a joke! Sort of. But seriously. If something did happen to you, I would have to avenge you. You know that, right?"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "You stupid tomato bastard" he said. A hint of a smile played around his lips.

"Well, it's unlikely anyone else will make an appearance this late at night. What were you doing out so late, anyway?" Arthur asked.

"Huh? Oh, I was just watching the stars. Its strange, they look so different from home. But then this is a completely different world, si?" Antoni smiled.

"Right. Well, at any rate, we'd best find rooms elsewhere. Lukas, are you alright to watch Peter until tomorrow? I'd keep him with me, but I don't want to wake him if he's settled now."

Lukas nodded. "Of course."

Arthur looked relieved. "Well, that's you, Matthias, Emil and Vlad, then. I suppose the rest of us should be off."

They said their goodbyes, leaving the inn. Lukas went upstairs, checking on the children briefly before entering the other room. Emil was already there, having gone up after dinner, wanting to be away from the crowd. He sat reading the book Lukas had given him that morning.

He looked up as his brother entered the room. "Oh. I take it everything's sorted then" he asked.

"Yes. We found Spain as well" Lukas replied. Emil merely hummed in response. "I suppose the angry Italy made him remember then. They're pretty close, I think."

"More than close, little brother."

Emil looked faintly horrified. "I do _not_ want to know" he said firmly. Lukas shrugged.

"Where's Den?" Emil asked.

Lukas shot him a glance. "You know him. He'll stagger upstairs at some point, blind drunk."

Emil curled his lip in disgust. "Why do you not stop him?" he moaned.

Lukas smirked. "And deprive him of the regret he'll feel in the morning? No, lillebrør. He deserves it."

Emil smirked this time. "You are evil sometimes, _brother_."

Lukas smiled at him. "Yes. Now, come to bed. It's late, you need to sleep."

Grumbling, Emil shut the book and walked over to the bed, pulling his boots off and lying down. He drew the covers over himself and turned his back on his brother. Lukas did the same, and they both fell asleep quickly.

Outside, the rest of the group stood in a huddle. "Where to, then?" Arthur asked. "We really should have settled this before, but it's probably too late to find rooms now."

Ludwig looked thoughtful. "The church" he said. Arthur turned to look at him. "Beg pardon?"

Feliciano caught on, his face bright. "SI! You said this spell wears off and no-one will remember who we were in this world, right?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes, but how does that help? We don't have carte blache to run around, you know."

Feliciano shook his head. "No, silly. Luddy means we can _stay_ in the church. If we say we are travellers and looking for sanctuary, they will have to accept us."

Arthur's eyes lit up in understanding. "Oh, of course. Well done, Italy."

Feliciano beamed. "Grazie!"

They made their way back to the church. Sure enough, the sleepy novice who answered their knocking showed no recognition of any of them, listening to their plea with a blinking gaze.

"This way, then." The novice motioned for everyone to follow him. He led them to a room with two long rows of beds. "It's a little basic, but please, have a restful night. If you need anything, there is a bell to summon us. I hope you all have pleasant dreams. Gods bless you." The novice turned and walked back to the main church, leaving them alone in the room. Surprisingly, none of the other beds were occupied.

"Well, good night, all" Arthur said. He made his way over to one of the beds and busied himself with putting his bag down, pulling his boots off and lying down.

"Ve, Luddy, can we sleep together?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig frowned at him. "These beds are far too small for two people. You can sleep next to me" he said. Feliciano pouted, but skipped over to a bed anyway. He patted the mattress, pouting. "It's hard" he whined.

Ludwig sighed. "You've slept in worse" he said.

"Tuck me in?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig blushed. "We're in _public_ " he hissed.

Alfred laughed. "Dude, no-one cares. We're all guys here. You and Feli can sleep together, Mattie and Gil are gonna sleep together, Lovino and Toni are gonna sleep together." He frowned slightly, realising.

"Guess that leaves me and Artie the only ones who aren't a couple! Hear that, Artie? Wanna tango?"

"Shut _up_ , you git." The words came from the other side of the room, where Arthur was pretending to be asleep.

"Aww, come on. You don't wanna be the only loner here, do you?" Alfred walked over to where Arthur was lying and proceeded to lean down, kissing his forehead exaggeratedly.

"Good night, _dear_ " he said. Arthur reached up and hit him. Alfred ignored it, laughing. He settled down on the bed next to Arthur, yawning loudly.

"Night, my dudes. Question, do any of you guys snore? Cause that would suck."

Antonio grinned. "Lovi does. He sounds so cute, like a tiny little chainsaw."

Lovino glared at him, punching his stomach. "Shut the hell up, you bastard. I do _not_ snore."

"Yes you do. Don't be embarrassed, it's really cute. You have done since you were little. You were so tiny back then. I would carry you to your bed, and lay you down, and you would pretend you weren't tired. Then I would tell you a story and you would be asleep long before I finished. You were so cute, huh?"

Lovino's face went steadily more red as Antonio spoke. "Shut the hell up! Bastard! No-one needs to know that! And I did not!" he stomped over to one of the beds and threw himself down. Feliciano, who had woken up with his brother's outburst, giggled.

"You did too, Lovi. Sebastian, tell him."

Sebastian nodded. "You do. At least you did the last time we all slept together. Sicily even complained that you kept her awake, and she was in a different room to us."

Lovino didn't raise his head, but lifted his arm and flipped the bird at his brother.

He muttered something inaudible to the room, but the meaning was clear. Antonio walked over to him, placing a soothing hand on his head.

"Lo siento, Lovi. I didn't mean to embarrass you. Let's just all get some sleep, ok?" He lay down in the bed next to him.

The others all found a bed themselves, Matthew and Gilbert taking those next to Alfred and Arthur. Sebastian looked around, taking in the sight of everyone next to each other.

"Loner, huh?" he murmured. His face fell for a moment, then brightened into his usual smile. "Oh well. I'll just have to wait a few years then." He took the bed across from Antonio.

Soon enough, the room settled into a peaceful quiet. Soft snores emanated from the beds as everyone slipped into sleep, allowing themselves to relax and let exhaustion take over.

* * *

 _A/N so there we go. I did end up changing the explanations slightly given that I hadn't read that much when I first wrote this. For truly amazing detail on Germany and HRE, I highly, highly recommend reading the fics 'Cross your Heart' and 'Hope to Die' by Bluesunkatsuri._

 _On a lighter note, sorry if there are spamano haters here. Unfortunately, they are one of the largest ships in my OTP fleet, so expect more at some point._

 _The pace should pick up a little after this, so I hope you enjoy it!_


	9. We're Going on a Picnic!

**Day six: In which arguments and picnics are had and a certain Frenchman makes his appearance in typical fashion.**

* * *

Chapter 9

Breakfast the next morning was a leisurely affair. Arthur rose early, as he normally did, and made his way down to the town in search of breakfast. Alfred and Matthew found him sitting at one of the numerous benches in the square with the list in front of him, the names of those among them crossed out.

"Yo, Artie, where's everyone else?"

Arthur raised his head, looking at him absently. "Lukas and Vlad are over there' – he waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the market- 'getting breakfast for the children. I highly disagree with giving them pastries this early in the morning, but they seemed delighted with the idea. Matthias is with them as well. "

Alfred grinned. "Cool. Hey, did you say pastries? Mattie, let's go get some!"

Matthew's face brightened up at the idea. "I don't suppose they'll have pancakes anywhere, will they?"

"Uh, no. Sorry bro."

The Canadian looked crestfallen, but resigned. "I didn't think so. Oh well. Jam isn't nearly as good as maple syrup, but it's better than nothing. We'll be back in a few minutes, Arthur."

Arthur waved them off. "Go on then."

The two left, returning a few minutes later with a basket of warm goods. He offered it to Arthur, who took a roll.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Alfred asked brightly.

"What? Oh. Well, not much, really. Between everyone who's already here I should think we've caused enough of a disturbance by now. We just have to wait for everyone else to be drawn to us. As long as we stay more or less together as a group, I shouldn't imagine it'll take too long for them to find us."

"Cool! So it's vacation time from here on!"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "If you consider this as such, yes. You know, I really wouldn't have expected you to take all this as calmly as you have done. That or you really are as dense as I suspect."

Alfred narrowed his eyes for a moment, but let it pass. "Y'know, Artie, you really need to learn to be nice. For real, dude. Would it kill you to like, _not_ insult me for once?"

Arthur looked positively shocked. "Well, I, uh-" he stuttered. Trying to sort his features into some form of composure, he simply sniffed and looked away. His face was slightly reddened, however. Alfred seemed to take that as apology enough, and grinned at him.

"Man, I was just messing with you! You are way too easy to tease, dude."

This time Arthur _did_ blush. Getting up, he swept past Alfred and walked off in the direction of the church, pointedly ignoring the American.

Alfred looked confused. "What'd I say?" he asked.

"You really are the dense one here, Al," Matthew said, a little sharply.

Alfred turned to his brother. "Not cool, bro. 'sides, if I am, you are too. Being twins and all."

Matthew let out a quiet laugh. "You got me there."

The others chose that moment to return from the store. Alexandru and Peter were both clutching pastries, looking incredibly happy at the fact that their mouths were smeared in crumbs and sugar.

Alfred chuckled. "Kids, you might wanna check yourselves." He tapped his cheek, grinning. The two boys beamed back guiltily, rubbing their faces with their hands hurriedly. "Sorry!" they chorused. Alexandru sucked on his fingers, not wanting to waste any of the sugar.

Vlad sighed and turned his brother to face him. "What have I told you?" he said, a fond smile on his face nonetheless. The little boy simply beamed at him. "It's yummy!" he explained. Vlad rolled his eyes at the boy, but drew him close and mussed his hair affectionately. Lukas did the same with Peter, ignoring the boy's protests at his uncle's ministrations, making Matthias smile at him. "Takes ya back, don't it Norge?"

Lukas looked up at him, then followed his gaze to Emil, who blushed deeply. " _Don't say a word_ ," the teen growled.

Lukas smirked at him. Emil turned away in a huff, refusing to acknowledge either his brother or the Dane.

On joint consensus, they decided to wait for the rest of the group to meet them. Feliciano, Ludwig and Gilbert found them after a few hours, Ludwig having apparently forced the others to join him on a morning run since there was 'no excuse to miss training, much less in a different world'. Feliciano smiled tiredly at them, but eagerly accepted a pastry.

"Yay! This looks yummy!" Ludwig sighed at his childishness, but didn't comment. He and Gilbert both took a roll from the basket as well, leaving it empty.

"Where are the others?" he asked sternly.

"Fratello is still asleep with Toni," Feliciano said between bites. "He's a really late sleeper if no-one wakes him up. Unless he's hungry. Then he gets mad."

"Of course," Ludwig muttered.

As if on cue, the two came walking up the street, Sebastian trailing behind them. He and Antonio looked as bright and happy as ever, a total contrast to Lovino's habitual scowl.

Seeing his brother with flakes of pastry around his mouth, Lovino marched up to him.

"So you all ate without us, bastard?"

Feliciano smiled guiltily at his brother. "You were sleeping, Lovi. And Luddy made us go for our training run. You could have come with us if you wanted!"

"Hell no. You better have something for me then." He pushed past him to where the now-empty basket sat on the edge of the fountain.

"Bastard." He turned to Antonio "It's your fault I slept in. Make it up and buy me something," he ordered.

Antonio smiled at him. "Loviiiii. What's the magic word?"

Lovino glared at him. "Are you stupid? That's for kids. Buy me breakfast, you bastard. I'm starving."

Antonio turned to Feliciano, his face nostalgic. "He used to do this every day when he was little. At least you don't jump on my stomach every morning now, hey Lovi?"

Lovino flushed darkly, scowling. "S-shut up, bastard!"

Feliciano turned to their youngest brother, giving him a look. Deflecting the tension, Sebastian threw an arm around his eldest brother. "Lovi, I'm hungry too. Let's go get something to eat, ok?"

Lovino did not look happy with either of his brothers, shaking the taller man off. "Alright. If it will shut you up, you little bastard. Toni, you're buying, got it?"

"Whatever you say, _mio tomate_."

The three walked off to the store, Lovino sandwiched between the taller men.

The day passed in general anticipation. The Nordics returned to the weapons shop Matthias had visited the day before, then went outside the town's walls for an impromptu sparring lesson with Peter. Needless to say, Arthur was less than thrilled at his little brother's eagerness, but grudgingly allowed it. After a while of Matthias showing off, Lukas shared a glance with Arthur, and the two made their way back to the church, stating that they would be in the library if anyone needed them.

Alfred and Matthew unsurprisingly went back to the stables. Surprisingly, Alexandru begged to go with them. After confirmation from Vlad, who wanted to return to the cave they had found him in to collect his things, they took the boy with them.

By the time Antonio, Lovino and Sebastian returned from the shop, the group had dispersed, leaving only Feliciano. Seeing his brothers, the little Italian ran over to them, throwing himself into their arms. Lovino side-stepped smartly, leaving Sebastian to catch him. He patted his older brother's back absently, used to Feliciano's outbursts.

"Loviiiii, he's bullying me again. I don't wanna do training!" he whined.

Lovino glared at Ludwig, who had placed a hand over his eyes in exasperation.

"What is your problem, you macho potato?"

Ludwig sighed. Gilbert, wearing an amused expression, laughed. "West is a stick-in-the-mud. He never skips training. Ita-cakes is just doing his routine complaining. It's all cool."

Lovino raised an eyebrow. "I didn't ask you, albino bastard. Feli, for god's sake, will you _shut up._ "

Feliciano stopped whimpering immediately, proving that it was all crocodile tears. "I don't wanna run. Luddy, it's so nice today, can we just go for a walk instead?" His eyes lit up, and he stepped away from his brothers, clapping his hands delightedly.

"Oh! Yes, let's do that. We can get a basket, and some wine, and lots of food, and we can collect flowers. You can go and run and train and I'll lie on the grass and watch you. Can we, please? Please?" he grabbed Ludwig's arm, shaking it pleadingly.

Ludwig looked thoroughly exasperated. However, he could do nothing in the face of the others. Lovino was glaring, Sebastian and Antonio looked like they were a moment away from bursting into laughter, and Gilbert was as usual smirking at him.

"Oh, fine then!" he snapped. "I see I am outnumbered," he said acidly.

Feliciano beamed at him guilelessly, clapping his hands again. "Yay!"

Ludwig couldn't help but roll his eyes, his face softening. "Do you really hate training that much?" he asked quietly as the others began to drift off.

Feliciano tilted his head, thinking. "Sometimes? I'm really not as strong as you want me to be, Luddy. You don't seem to understand that. You're all muscly and brawny and amazing, and I'm…not."

Ludwig stared at him, shocked. "You shouldn't compare yourself to me, Feliciano."

"But I do. You're tall and strong, and you can run for ages without stopping. You're really clever and you can get everyone to stop fighting when you yell at them. I can't do anything. I'm small and weak and everyone thinks I'm stupid and can't do anything. I can't run the country without Lovi and I laugh too much and eat too much pasta and I run to you for help too much and you think I'm annoying." He ran out of breath and stopped, staring up at the tall blond with a hint of tears.

Ludwig was struck speechless. "Y-you…that's completely wrong" he said eventually. "You should not compare yourself with anyone else. Yes, you are not athletic, but that isn't everything. You paint beautifully, you sing like an angel, and you cook brilliantly. I know I get annoyed with you sometimes, but you should know that it is just because I worry about you. I am truly sorry if I have ever made you feel inferior with my actions." He looked down at the Italian, his face drawn and serious.

Feliciano stared up at him for a moment longer, almost frightened. Then, like a cloud passing over his face, he beamed at him, his carefully crafted smile back in place.

"Ve? That's good. But you _do_ think I eat too much pasta, I know you do."

Ludwig blinked, his face twisting in confusion. "W-well, I suppose. You cannot win a battle with carbohydrates."

Feliciano giggled. "No? I could throw potatoes at the enemy, wouldn't that work? It would surprise them, and then we could run them over with tanks. The last ones didn't work, but I can always make more. I'm sure the next ones we make will be really good!"

He turned around, thinking.

"Ok, lets go! Let's see, we need food, and wine, and a basket. They don't have pasta here, so we'll have to get rolls and bread and pastries and cakes and fruit. We should ask if anyone else wants to come, although I really want to watch you by myself. Lovi won't want to come 'cause he's mean and he'll be with Toni. Sebastian could come, I suppose. Arthur and Alfred and Mattie are away, and they have the _bambinos_ with them. Gil can come with us, obviously. I don't know about the others. Let's hurry, Luddy, come on!"

Ludwig could only follow after him, thoroughly confused. Feliciano had deflected the conversation as though it had never happened. As usual, he was no closer to understand the little Italian. Shaking his head, he walked forward to where Feliciano had run on ahead.

After procuring the necessary items, they left the town. Sebastian had tagged along, as Feliciano thought. To his surprise, Lovino had agreed to come as well, and so Antonio followed, carrying his guitar. He had bought a roll of paper and quill as well, saying that he could use the time to write some music since he rarely had the chance.

They walked for the next few hours, in relative peace. Gilbert and Antonio chatted together, discussing the 'good old times' as they called it. Lovino feigned boredom, but listened all the same. Ludwig frequently rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation as some of their more outlandish exploits, while Feliciano and Sebastian laughed.

They stopped for lunch a few miles outside the town. The sun was high in the sky, beating down warmly and taking away the slight chill in the air. Now that they had time to notice it, they could see the flowers and butterflies flitting between them. Gilbert started rambling about frame rates and graphics conversion, which the others ignored.

Feliciano set the basket down, drawing out a large blanket and spreading it over the grass. Sebastian helped set out the food and wine, then sat down, staring out across the landscape happily.

After being called several times, Lovino stomped over to his brothers and sat down roughly. "I heard you the first time, you bastard," he complained.

"Then you should have come!" Feliciano retorted, smiling.

"Whatever. Give me that, I'm starving." He tore a roll out of Feliciano's hands, who pouted.

Antonio took the opportunity to lay out the roll of paper he had purchased. He began humming softly, drawing long lines on the paper to make a rough music notation. Soon, he had a few bars set down, his face set in concentration.

Gilbert eventually stopped his examination of the landscape and came over to sit down, throwing himself down on the blanket.

"This is the life. We should do this more often, don't you think? Huh, Luddykins?"

Ludwig didn't seem to have heard him. He was staring at Feliciano, who was humming along to Antonio's playing as he passed the food around.

"Brilliant. I've lost out to love. Revoked status as adored older brother. I see how it is. Go on then, Luddy. Keep staring at Ita-cakes. One day you'll even man up enough to tell him how you feel!" he said quietly. Antonio looked up at him, not pausing his singing, although his eyes crinkled with laughter.

Ludwig turned to him. "Did you say something?" he asked.

"Nope! Nothing! Nothing at all!" Gilbert snickered, his face the picture of innocence. Antonio couldn't hold back a peal of laughter. Ludwig narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but didn't question it. He turned away from the two, going back to watching Feliciano.

"What's so funny, huh, bastard?" Lovino demanded.

Antonio took his hand off the guitar to ruffle the younger's hair. "Nothing, Lovi. Nothing yet."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Antonio motioned to Ludwig, seeing Feliciano now lying beside him, eating grapes upside down. He lifted one to Ludwig's lips, pressing gently against his mouth, laughing at the Germans' stoic refusal.

Lovino's eyes went dark with anger.

"Bastard! Get the hell away from him!" he yelled.

Feliciano jolted up when he heard Lovino's angry words, but relaxed again, tuning him out.

"Don't ignore me, you stupid little idiot. Sit up or don't come crying to me when you get a stomachache."

"But this is comfy, Lovi," Feliciano's voice floated over, completely ignoring his brother's anger. "It's so nice here. It's sunny, and warm, and we have good food and wine and there's so many flowers and everything. Just enjoy it, si?" He closed his eyes and snuggled into Ludwig's side, smiling up at him sweetly and laughing at the faint blush darkening Ludwig's pale cheeks.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Simplistic bastard," he muttered. He opened his mouth, obviously about to start yelling again. Antonio took the opportunity, reaching over to plug him with a mouthful of bread, effectively shutting him up.

Lovino glared at him, but couldn't respond. He chewed furiously, his face dark in an angry blush.

"What the hell, bastard!" he fumed.

"Lovi, don't yell. Feli is right. It's a lovely day, with lovely food and lovely friends. Just eat your lunch, alright? No arguing today, or I will get angry." Antonio's voice was mild, but held a veiled threat of something dark and dangerous.

Lovino's eyes widened in surprise at the tone. He sputtered for a moment, his face beet red, then, surprisingly, did as he was told. Antonio smirked at him, making Lovino flush further. He turned his head away sharply, concentrating on eating.

They ate the rest of the food leisurely. Feliciano curled up on the blanket, falling asleep quickly as he usually did. Ludwig covered him with his jacket, then reclined beside him, one hand placed protectively over the little Italian. Antonio and Gilbert talked quietly, discussing the music he was writing. After some persuasion, Lovino lay down as well, soon snoring quietly. Sebastian had wandered off to inspect the flowers, standing a little way off and staring into the distance with a bland expression.

Once the elder Italians had awoken from their siesta, they packed up, returning to the town once the afternoon began to grow cool.

They found the others back at the fountain, having recongregated.

"Oh, good, you're back," Arthur said. He sounded a little tense, making Feliciano tilt his head in concern.

"Is everything ok?" he asked.

Arthur pursed his lips. "Most decidedly _not_ ," he replied. He jerked a thumb behind him, refusing to turn around.

The others followed his pointing, looking across the market.

"Ah. I see."

There, chatting to a stall owner, was Francis. Although his back was turned, he was unmistakable, his longish hair tied back with a ribbon. He wore a resplendent blue tunic with tight brown trousers and white stockings with knee-high dark leather boots, and looked every inch the aristocrat.

Gilbert whistled quietly. "Woah, how come Franny gets to be all posh when me and Toni are slumming it? Way to go, eyebrows."

Arthur glared at him. "I've _told_ you, I don't have any control over anyone who wasn't a player. If you wish to blame someone, blame _him_. You know as well as I that that fancy frog has always had a taste for stupid clothes. That look didn't suit anyone then, and it certainly doesn't now."

Antonio smiled softly. "We have all made many mistakes in fashion, Arthur. Or do you not remember ruffs?"

His voice held a wicked lilt, making Arthur glare and cross his arms angrily. He turned away from them, his head high, ignoring them.

Unbeknownst to the group, Matthew and Alfred had been conferring with each other quietly, or as quiet as Alfred could ever be. They reached a conclusion, and Matthew stepped forward, walking towards the stall. He didn't get very far, however.

Francis had obviously finished his conversation with the stall owner, as he turned away, waving a hand in polite farewell. As he did so, his eyes fell on the group.

His face went through a range of emotions, from surprise, shock and disbelief, then widened in realisation. He strode forward strongly, grabbing Arthur by his collar. The Englishman stiffened, his hands raised defensively in front of him.

"I-I can expl-"

He was cut off by Francis hugging him tightly. Eyes going wide with shock, Arthur stood stock still for a moment before coming back to himself and shoving Francis away.

"What the bloody hell was that for, you damn frog?" he cried.

Francis looked immensely relieved. "Thank goodness I found you. I was so beginning to worry. I woke up this morning and suddenly realised that I had no idea where I was. I can only assume this has something to do with you?"

Arthur rolled his eyes at the Frenchman's characteristic outburst. "Why does everyone always assume it's my fault?" he asked crossly.

"Because it usually is," Gilbert answered blandly. "Hello, Franny. 'sup."

"Bonjour, Gil. But, _if you please_ , explain what is going on, Angleterre."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "I've said it far too many times already. Must I repeat myself every time we find someone else?" he asked sharply.

The group merely exchanged looks.

"Your problem, dude" Alfred said. "'sides, you've got it down by now." He laughed loudly, although no-one else did.

"I'll tell him," a quiet voice stated.

Everyone turned to face Matthew. Francis' eyes widened at the sight of the two.

"Matthieu? Alfred? You are here too?" Stepping forward, he took each of their arms, steering them away.

"Since you will undoubtedly do it in a more _civil_ manner than Angleterre, will you please explain to me what is going on?"

"Well, it's like this." Matthew explained the situation, Alfred cutting in occasionally. Francis listened to them both, his face serious.

"Well, I see. Arthur, you really must learn to control your magic. What if something had happened to the boys? Or to anyone?"

Arthur glared at him. "I _made_ this for them, _if_ you remember. And it was rather because _you_ weren't around, I might add." His eyes flicked to Alfred and Matthew, then back to Francis.

Francis eyes turned hard. "That was not my fault, Angleterre, and you know it."

The two stayed locked in a heated glare until Matthew stepped between them. "It really doesn't matter why or how you did this, Arthur. We just have to concentrate on finding everyone else."

His quiet plea made the two turn to him, surprised. Francis' eyes softened.

"Oui, of course, Matthieu." He turned back to Arthur. "I suppose you have at least some idea of a plan for this?" he asked archly.

Grimacing, Arthur crossed his arms. "Of course," he shot back.

"Hey, Artie, can we move this to the inn? Cuz I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty hungry." Alfred looked questioningly at him.

"What?" Arthur looked around them. It had grown late, the shadows deepening. "Oh, it is rather late. I suppose it is time for tea. If we can continue this in a more civil location?" he addressed Francis, who nodded.

"Oui. If you can find such a place here" he snubbed. Arthur merely rolled his eyes, refusing to reply.

They made their way to the inn. To their surprise, Matthias, Lukas and Vlad were there already, Peter and Alexandru tucking in to bowls of stew.

"When did you guys get here?" Alfred asked, shocked.

"They left before Francis came, but you didn't see," Matthew said quietly. "Good evening, everyone."

Lukas nodded at him. Matthias waved at them, holding a mug up at a dangerous angle. "Hey guys! You gotta try this stuff, it's amazing!" he cried.

Lukas grabbed his arm and brought it down roughly. "Shut _up_ , you idiot," he muttered. The two boys looked up at the group briefly, Peter offering a wide smile before returning to eating.

After dinner, there was the usual discussion on who they had yet to find, as well as discussing sleeping arrangements. It was decided for the time being that there was no reason not to have the same arrangement as before; Lukas and Arthur had enough funds to keep a room for several days, and it was unanimously agreed that the children came first for beds and rooms.

"So, before we go, remember, meet at the fountain no later than an hour after sunrise" Arthur said once the discussion was done.

A groan ran around the table at the early hour, but no-one really contested it. With that decided, they called an end to the day.

* * *

 _A/N Yay! Francis is here! FACE fam is finally all together again! Now, I deliberately made it vague as to what the pairings are here, since although I initially intended to have USUK, that leaves poor Francis all on his lonesome. So after discussing it with my sister (who hasn't read this chapter yet, the poor thing is swamped with essays and presentations, boo hoo) I've decided on FRUK. You'll have to wait and see who Alfred ends up with, mwa ha ha. It's all in hand now though. I've finally decided on all my pairings. I do aim to show all characters, so if at any point I have forgotten anyone (not Mattie, I love him too much. Him and Lovi, as if you can't tell) please give me a shout and I'll work them in. I definitely know where I'm going with this now, so I have it (mostly) worked out._

 _That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Now, onwards to the next! One more and we're in double digits! Hurrah!_

Up next: Arthur asks for Matthew's aid in tracking down a salesman, and the Germanics have a fraught family reunion.


	10. Friends, Family and Dire Enemies

**Day Seven: In which Matthew meets a friend and Gilbert meets a familial enemy.**

* * *

Chapter 10

The next day dawned brilliantly clear and sunny. Unsurprisingly, dawn found Arthur sitting by the fountain, enjoying some peace and quiet. He was soon joined by Ludwig and Gilbert, having risen even earlier for their morning run. Anticipating it, Arthur wordlessly handed over two mugs and a small basket of food, which they took gratefully.

"I trust you have a plan in mind for today?" Ludwig asked after a while.

Arthur looked over at him, then sighed. "Not really. I only asked everyone to meet here so that we keep relatively together. We have the list sorted out now, so it really is a case of waiting until everyone turns up. There aren't that many of us left. At least those who are likely to be here."

Ludwig looked displeased with this idea, and Arthur couldn't really blame him. With his rigid adherence to order and structure, Ludwig had not taken well to this, seeing it as a thoroughly unwelcome disruption to the routine, especially as they had been in the middle of a world meeting.

It wasn't long before the others started to arrive. Once Arthur told them that they were free to do as they wanted as long as they didn't go too far, they split up into groups again. Matthias decided to go back to the weapons shop he had been, while Lukas and Vlad went off to collect ingredients of some kind.

Soon, Arthur was left on his own. Alfred and Matthew had gone to find the stables in this time, taking Peter with them. Francis had taken one look at the clothes everyone was in and immediately declared that they were all in need of new clothes. Despite Arthur's protestations, he had been overruled, and Francis had left with Antonio and the Italian trio, with Ludwig and Gilbert acting as bodyguards.

 _Of course he would_ have _to have been placed as a foppish fool. Suits him_ Arthur thought sourly.

He shook his head. Deciding that it was far too nice a day for such unpleasant thoughts, he made his way through the town with no real purpose, simply enjoying the peace of being on his own.

His wandering took him to the edge of town. The land had risen slightly, allowing a perfect view of the landscape. Fields stretched around them to the seafront, the water sparkling prettily in the sun. Rows of tiny ships bobbed up and down, made small with distance.

The sight of them gave him an idea.

Quickly, he hurried towards the stables, having to ask for directions once or twice. Once he found it, he went over to where Alfred and Matthew were. Peter was sitting on top of a barrel, happily munching an apple.

"Woah, dude, what's the hurry?" Alfred laughed.

"I think I have an idea for the others, but if I'm right, I may need your help." Arthur turned, not to Alfred, but his brother. Matthew stared at him, confused.

"M-me?" he asked.

"Yes. Now hurry up." He walked out, not bothering to look and see if they were following him.

"Dude, calm down. They're not going anywhere. I get the whole 'seize the day' thing, but could you wait up?" Alfred jogged to catch the Englishman up, falling into step beside him. Matthew and Peter followed, the boy looking up at the Canadian in confusion. Matthew could only shrug and follow after the two, wondering what, or rather who, Arthur was in such a hurry to find.

After half and hour or so of walking, they found themselves at the docks. It was busy, and loud with all the sounds associated with it. Rigging swung gently in the soft breeze, the timber boards thudding as dockhands and workers carried cargo to and fro. The air was heavy with the scent of the ocean, laced with a myriad of scents of food from the barrels and boxes destined for shops and homes around the town and beyond.

Matthew spoke up, his voice wondering. "So, Arthur, who exactly am I supposed to he helping?"

Arthur didn't hear him, focused on looking around, as if hoping whoever it was would suddenly appear in front of them. " _You'd think being the tallest man in Europe would be a damn sight easier to spot,_ " he muttered.

Matthew caught on to that, his eyes widening in understanding. He smiled softly, realising why Arthur had wanted _him_ to find the missing nation, and why he had brought them here, to the docks.

"Alright, I'll keep an eye out," he said. Looking up at the buildings, he noticed one with a familiar sign, and made his way forward.

Alfred was none the wiser. He watched his brother go, his face confused. "Dude, what is going on?" he complained.

"Just wait. Matthew knows what he's doing. If he's right, we won't have to wait long."

Waiting had never been one of the American's strong suits, but he complied, at least until Peter started getting closer and closer to the edge of one of the piers and had to be yanked back. The boy looked up at him, grinning unapologetically.

"I can swim!" he said.

Alfred laughed good naturedly. "I'm sure you can, buddy. But your big bro here would have my hide if I let you fall in. Just stay away from the edge, ok?"

Peter looked crestfallen, but stepped back.

"Tell ya what, since Artie seems like he's gonna stay here until Mattie comes back, how's about you and me go and check out some of these rad ships, huh?"

The boy beamed at him happily.

"Yo, Artie! I'm gonna take the kid on a tour, that cool with you? Don't worry, I won't let him drown or, like, join the navy or anything. But sittin' here all day till Mattie comes out of that door with whoever you think he's gonna find is gonna be totally boring, so we're gonna take a walk around. See you later dude!"

Arthur looked up, waving a hand in tacit agreement. "Very well, just don't go too far. And don't buy a ship."

Alfred gave him a pretend pout. "Aww, man, you hear that kiddo? My plan got busted."

Peter giggled. Alfred grinned at him, sweeping his arm out invintingly.

"Come on then, little British dude. Let's go see what cool stuff this place has."

Arthur watched as the two walked off, biting his lip in worry. This had been rather a whim, had he been totally wrong? Matthew hadn't exited the exchange shop yet, which was certainly a good sign. Or he hoped so, anyway.

He was saved from his anxious thoughts by the sound of his name being called. He turned to see Matthew coming towards him, accompanied by a group of people. He was talking quietly to one of them, obviously explaining the situation in his usual calm manner.

Matthew gestured towards Arthur, making the man turn his head to look at him. As usual, his blond hair had been spiked up along his fringe, giving him a faintly aggressive look. _Where on this earth did he find hair gel in this place?_ Arthur wondered. Behind him, the rest of the group followed, a mixture of expressions on their faces.

They drew up to Arthur, who nodded a greeting to them all.

"I trust Matthew had explained the situation to you all?" he asked politely.

The man nodded. "I don't understand why or how, but I don't really care. You say most of us are here already?"

Arthur nodded. "Yes. They're all in town. Most of us, anyway. Here, we've made a list of everyone." He went to take the scroll out of his pocket, but the man waved him away.

"Lars, don't be like that," a voice cut in. Arthur turned to the speaker. The woman smiled at him brightly.

"Hello, Arthur. Are you alright? How is everyone?"

"Hello, Bella," He replied politely. "Quite well, thank you. And you?"

Bella smiled. "We're all fine. Took quite a shock when we all realised we had no idea what was happening, but it's fine now. Lars is just being a grump, but he's cheered up now that Mattie's here." She leaned towards him, whispering conspirationally. "Let's just say, _some_ of us took it a little more calmly than others." She giggled, motioning over her shoulder to the others.

Standing a few steps away from Matthew and Lars was Vash, looking absolutely livid, his hands clenched together as if wishing he had one of his beloved guns ready to shoot anyone who came close. Lilli clung to his side, looking wary as she peered around at the docks. Of course, both being entirely landlocked, it was not surprising that neither were particularly comfortable around ships. Henri stood between her and Lars, looking calmly around with a vaguely curious expression, smiling when he noticed his sister gesturing at him.

"Are you making fun of me again? Please don't, sis," he said genially.

Bella giggled again. "Nah. I was just saying to Arthur that some of us don't seem to be very happy with all this." As usual, her voice held a lilt of laughter.

Henri turned his head to glance at Vash, shuddering slightly when the shorter man turned his scowl towards them. He glared at Henri, moving his hand to push Lilli slightly behind him. The girl looked up at her brother wonderingly, then across to the others. Her face lit up, smiling shyly, then ducked her head, her eyes dropping to the floor demurely. Henri turned his head away quickly, his pale cheeks flushing almost imperceptibly.

Bella arched an eyebrow at her brother teasingly, but turned back to Arthur with a smile that was a hint away from a smirk.

Any comment she was going to make was interrupted by Lars striding over to them.

"Well, if you two have finished chatting. Are we leaving now?"

Arthur looked up at him, annoyed at how much he had to strain his neck to do so. "Well, yes, if you want. There's no rush. We're staying at the inn in town, or the church. Everyone knows what is going on, so just come and find us when you're ready. Do you have a place sorted for the night?"

Lars nodded, but didn't elaborate. Arthur nodded once, standing and looking around for Alfred and Peter. Not seeing them, he sighed in annoyance.

"Well, I ought to go and let the others know, at least. You're welcome to come with us for lunch, of course. Matthew, I don't suppose your brother and the annoying little twerp are around here anywhere?"

The Canadian shook his head apologetically. "I haven't seen them, sorry."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Brilliant. Well, they're perfectly capable of making their own way back, then. Are you coming?"

Matthew nodded quickly, then turned to Lars. "Are you coming with us?" he asked softly.

The tall Dutchman nodded silently.

They made their way back into town to rejoin the others and get lunch. As it turned out, Alfred and Peter were at the end of the pier, having walked down to see on one of the larger ships as it was unloaded.

The rest of the group was waiting for them. Upon seeing them, Feliciano clapped happily. "Oh, look, here they are. See, Luddy, I told you they wouldn't be long. And look! They're not alone!" He waved at the group, smiling. "Hey, you guys! Ciao!"

Bella smiled back, skipping over to them. "Hello, Feli." She peered around him, then giggled. "And Lovi. Don't hide, silly. Come here!"

Lovino, who had tried to hide behind his brother when he caught sight of two of his one-time guardians, stepped forward and accepted her welcoming hug. He shied away from Lars, having never been entirely comfortable around him.

Vash gave them all a stiff nod, the closest he ever got to a polite greeting. Lilli smiled timidly at them all, and Henri gave a small wave.

"Well, I see you were productive, at least," Ludwig remarked. "Good to see you all. I trust someone has explained the situation to you?"

Matthew nodded. "I did."

"Good."

Whatever Ludwig was going to say next was interrupted by Feliciano gasping loudly, staring across the square. The rest of them turned to see what he had noticed.

An elegant couple stood together at one stall, a young boy standing between them. They would have been no different to any of the many families around them, were it not for the long silver braids hanging down the boy's back, one of which he was running through his hands absently in boredom.

To their surprise, Vash strode forward.

"I'll handle this," he muttered. He looked down at Lilli for a moment, as if asking for confirmation. The girl nodded at him with a smile, turning towards the couple.

No-one contested him. The two walked forward to the couple, pretending to be interested in the stall's wares. After a moment or two, the man turned to Vash, obviously striking up a conversation with him. They were too far away for them to hear Vash's words, but it was made pretty clear by him turning to point back at the group, his posture back to its' usual repressed anger.

The man's eyes narrowed, his expression turning incredulous, then understanding. Beside him, the woman gasped, turning to Lilli with a slight cry and enfolding the young girl in a hug. Lilli squirmed at the contact, stepping away with an embarrassed expression. The boy looked unimpressed, staring towards the group with a bored look on his face.

Vash turned away from them, motioning for them to follow.

As soon as they were close enough, Feliciano ran forward, almost barrelling into them.

The woman stepped back, caught off guard by the force of the little Italian. Nevertheless, she returned the embrace, ruffling the auburn hair lovingly.

"Feliciano? What on earth is going on?" she asked, her voice light. She turned to the rest of the group, her expression darkening when her eyes landed on Vlad.

"Of course _you_ would be involved," she spat.

Vlad narrowed his eyes at her. "Not me, actually. Shocking, I know."

Erzsébet glared at him a moment longer, then turned her head sharply, ignoring him.

"No fighting in public, please darling," the man interjected in a quiet voice.

"Oh, shut up, Roddy." Erzsébet ignored her ex-husband, who merely rolled his eyes and stood stiffly, his arms folded.

Feliciano smiled widely. "You're here! Yay! There's so many of us now!" he said happily.

Roderich nodded at him in greeting. He pushed his glasses up a little further on his face, his usual nervous habit. "Now, what exactly is going on here?" he asked stiffly. "Vash explained this situation to us, but I'm afraid it rather lacks any sensible explanation. No offence, Vash."

"None taken," the Swiss replied. "This whole thing is stupid, anyway."

Roderich smiled sharply in agreement. His gaze roamed the group, his expression turning haughty as his lip curled in disgust.

"I'm glad to be in the company of _someone_ sensible, at least." It was obvious who his words were targeted towards.

Gilbert simply laughed loudly. "Hah! That's what you get for brushing the awesome me off, sissy! You should have paid more attention to my awesome games and maybe you wouldn't be so clueless!"

Roderich shot a disdainful glare at his cousin. "Yes, well," he sniffed. " _Some_ of us have more important matters to attend to than childish games."

"Childish? My awesome games? _Nein_ , _nein._ They are awesome and you know it!"

"Whatever you say, barbarian."

Gilbert huffed, folding his arms. "Prissy princess."

"Uneducated, uncultured swine."

"Stuck-up, sissy little lord. I have more culture than you could dream of. Just who was it who taught you to even read music in the first place? The awesome me, that's who."

Roderich's pale face flushed slightly. He hated to be reminded of that fact, and Gilbert knew it.

Erzsébet's hand twitched, obviously wishing she was holding her frying pan. She turned her head towards Vash, pitching her voice loudly. "Vash darling, you did say you just came from the docks, yes?"

The Swiss nodded, his face almost smiling as he looked towards the quarrelling pair.

Erzsébet smiled. "Good." She walked forward to the two, her face deliberately sweet.

"Boys, one more word and I shall pitch you both straight into the harbour, and you know your swimming skills are terrible, Roddy darling."

Roderich's flush immediately disappeared, and Gilbert's pale face went even whiter. "Devil woman, can't a man insult his family in peace?" he muttered.

Erzsébet ignored him, sweeping passed him to the others. "Ludwig, darling, how are you?"

Ludwig accepted her embrace, a little reluctantly, leaning down slightly as she pulled his head down to press a kiss to his cheek. "Oh, you're so tall now! Why do they all have to grow up!" she lamented.

Feliciano giggled. "Ve, but Lizzie, we didn't know you were here? Peter said you were putting Hans to bed?"

Erzsébet nodded. "We had. But then, well…"

She looked over her shoulder. Feliciano craned his head around to see. His eyes widened as he saw the boy in question standing with Peter and Alexandru. As if feeling their eyes on him, he turned to face them, his expression unapologetic.

"Yes?" he asked in his clear child's voice.

Erzsébet smiled indulgently at him. "Tell Feli why you're here," she cooed.

The little micronation stared at them. "I couldn't sleep," he said blandly. "So I got up to ask brother for a glass of water. I stepped into the main room to find him, and everything went green and blue and colourful. Then I was here, with brother and Miss Erzsébet."

The Hungarian frowned playfully at him. "Hans, how many times to I have to tell you! You don't have to be so formal!"

The boy looked at her calmly. "But you are my elder. And you are not married to brother any more, so it would not be proper."

Erzsébet giggled and ruffled his hair, making the boy frown and turn away. "Oh, Hans. You sure do take after Roddy after all!"

Hans looked annoyed at the suggestion, turning away with a huff. Erzsébet simply laughed again, rolling her eyes affectionately at him.

Feliciano giggled. "Well, anyway, you're here now! I don't know what Vash told you, but apparently it's all something to do with Arthur not being very good at his magic. Oh, I know! Vlad can tell you! He does all the magic stuff with Arthur and Lukas."

Erzsébet looked horrified at the suggestion. "I think _not_ ," she said firmly, glaring at the man in question.

Vlad returned her glare with a smirk, radiating a lethal, predatory aura.

"Problem, she-devil?" he asked lightly.

Erzsébet practically growled at him, turning away stiffly.

"Lukas, Matthias, Emil, I'm sure one of you fine gentlemen can offer a better explanation?" she asked sweetly.

Lukas rolled his eyes imperceptibly. "I did explain earlier," he said with a tone of slight annoyance. "Perhaps you didn't hear me over your feud?"

Both Roderich and Gilbert had the grace to look faintly embarrassed.

Hans looked up at his brothers, sighing in childish annoyance.

"The one with the eyebrows cast a spell to make the game he and the others were playing come alive," he said. "We ended up here, with no memory of who we were or what we were doing. I believed myself to be in a family unit with brother and miss Erzsébet as my parents. When we woke up this morning, we realised who we were and that we were here, wherever this is. We decided to look around the town to see if we could find any information, then he'- he pointed at Vash- 'came over and told us he didn't understand what was going on but that it was something to do with magic. I don't care, but it's not very nice here and I would like to go home soon."

Roderich looked down at his charge with an incredulous expression. "How, might I ask, did you deduce all that?" he inquired.

Hans looked up at his guardian coolly. "Observation is one of the most important parts of art. I saw the game on the table, and the man with the eyebrows took out a wand, and now we are here. I didn't remember until this morning. Isn't it obvious what happened?"

Roderich raised an eyebrow. "You should have said something before," he admonished. "Did it not occur to you to let myself and Erzsébet know, or did you find it amusing to let us wander around in ignorance?"

Hans merely shrugged, refusing to answer.

Roderich looked down at him for a moment, his expression a mixture of anger and exasperation. After a long moment of silence, he shook his head despairingly.

"You really are a very strange child," he muttered. "From the moment you were born you've been nothing but trouble."

Hans ignored him, but his gaze dropped to the floor. He didn't answer, but frowned, blinking rapidly with a hint of tears in his deep violet eyes. Roderich didn't appear to notice.

Gilbert's gaze dropped to Hans, his crimson eyes narrowing sharply. He leant down in front of the boy, pitching his voice loudly. "Ignore him, kiddo. Priss hates anything that disrupts his perfect little routine. And anything that annoys him, I like you. Hey, do you like games?"

Hans looked up at him, a small smile rising to his face. He sniffed once, blinking the tears away. "I suppose. Games are a form of art too. Sometimes."

The albino grinned at him. "That's a good kid. You gotta come over to mine sometime, then. I'll show you the most awesome games ever!"

Roderich turned to him sharply, looking horrified. "You most certainly will not!" he declared. "The child has enough rebellion in him already, I will _not_ have you degrading his character further!"

Gilbert merely stuck his tongue out at him. "All the more reason to then. What d'ya say, kiddo? You don't hate me, do you?"

Hans raised an eyebrow. One hand lifted absently to grab one of his braids, running his hands along it. His eyes narrowed in thought.

"No. You have hair like mine. To hate you would be like hating myself. I like my hair, so I like you too. And if brother hates you then you must be more fun than him."

Gilbert grinned from ear to ear. "Hah! Hear that, princess? The kid likes me more than you! I AM THE MOST AWESOME PERSON EVER!" he crowed.

Hans looked as if he was thinking of retracting his statement. Roderich glared at his cousin, pushing his glasses up and readjusting his immaculate jacket.

"Clearly your father's intelligence did not extend to you," he said witheringly.

Gilbert's crimson eyes narrowed sharply. It seemed as it the temperature dropped several degrees. Feliciano shrunk back, knowing that a switch had been flicked.

"What was that, princess?" the albino hissed.

Just like that, the atmosphere changed. Gilbert leaned towards the Austrian, his voice low and dangerous. "Just who was out winning wars while you sat around in your pristine mansion doing nothing but _composing_? Who was it who called the greatest empire in the world their brother? Who raised their inheritor _on their own_?" His expression was fierce with anger. Erzsébet wisely drew Hans to her side, running a hand along his silken hair soothingly. Ludwig wisely motioned for the rest of them to withdraw, leaving the two on their own.

Gilbert didn't seem to notice, still glaring fiercely at Roderich. "I have been through things you cannot even imagine. I have seen and done things that would give you nightmares for the rest of your immortal life. If you had been through _half,_ even a _quarter_ of what I have, it would be enough for a sissy little sap like you to piss your immaculately tailored pants. So by all means, insult me all you want. But if you _dare_ to insult my vati ever again, I swear to all that is holy in this world I will _end_ you, nation or not."

Roderich could only stand in stunned silence. Erzsébet turned away from them both, her face twisted in pained understanding. The rest of the group had thankfully been too far away to hear his words, but the malice in Gilbert's eyes had been undeniable.

Thankfully, Ludwig stepped forward sternly. Grabbing his brother by the collar, he yanked him backwards hard enough to make him choke. The tension broke like a water balloon, Gilbert's face changing from murderous to pained in an instant.

"Bruder! What the hell! Let me go!"

Ludwig gave him a little shake. "I don't know what on earth that was about, but you owe Roderich an apology," he said sternly.

Gilbert looked over to their cousin sharply, his eyes still glittering. "What? I do _not_. Roddy's a sissy, but he knows I wouldn't really kill him. That wouldn't be very awesome of me. Besides, he knows I didn't mean it. Liz threatens to kill me just about every day, and yet I'm still here!"

A flash of something dark flew across his face, too quick for any of the others to notice.

Erzsébet let go of Hans and stepped forward, her skirt swishing around her. Making her voice cheerily bright, she said "well, boys, you're both as bad as each other. Roddy, stop winding him up. And _you_ -' she pointed at Gilbert threateningly, making him cringe back into Ludwig- 'just be thankful I don't have my frying pan with me, or you would be getting very well aquainted with the mud right now." She looked between the two men, her hands on her hips.

"Consider this a final warning. If either of you start a fight again, no matter what, I will drag you down to the docks and throw you in the harbour myself, and you know I will. I don't care how old you are. That goes for all of you, actually." She let her gaze roam across the group, who looked taken aback.

"Except you, of course, sweeties," she amended, smiling tenderly at the children. Hans looked back at her indifferently. Peter didn't seem particularly concerned with her threat, while Alexandru was trying to hide behind Vlad, his long sleeves covering his mouth.

"Brother, she's scary," he whispered.

Vlad regarded the Hungarian with an inscrutable smile. "Isn't she just?" he said, his voice amused.

Alexandru looked up at Peter. "Hey, how come you aren't scared?" he asked.

Peter smiled brightly. "What? Oh, mum does that happy-scary thing too. Normally to Uncle Den. It's quite funny."

Matthias pouted at his nephew. "Hey, kid, don't knock it. 'F you'd been on the receiving end of it, you'd be scared too. Tell Fin ta tone it down next time, would'ya?"

Peter shook his head, beaming at him. "Nope!"

Matthias threw his hands up despairingly. "Lukeeeee, do something about the kid, hey?"

Lukas raised an eyebrow at him. Peter grinned back, making the Norwegian's lips curl up into a slight smile.

"Not that anyone seems remotely interested, but did you or did you not say something about lunch?," a voice asked wearily.

Everyone whirled around to Emil, who flushed slightly with the sudden attention, but stared back unapologetically.

"What?" he said sharply. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't give a damn about your family feuds. We've all had them and miraculously none of us have killed each other yet." He looked pointedly at his brother and Matthias, who merely laughed.

"Icey's got a point," he said cheerfully. "Gil, if you wanna drink with us again, do us all a favour and shut up, ok?"

The albino grinned at him. "Man, you are so _Un_ awesome right now, Dane!"

His voice was light, however, signalling that his anger was gone. He looked around cheerfully. "OK, ok, I concede. Even the awesome me can be nice sometimes." He turned back to Roderich and bowed theatrically, too deep to be anything but mocking.

"Your prissy prince highness, I beg your most sincere forgiveness. Now acknowledge that the awesome me is far better than you in every way and we'll say no more about it. Fair deal, right?"

Roderich turned his head away sharply, ignoring him. Erzsébet coughed delicately, pointedly. Roderich scowled, then whirled back sharply.

"Very well," he hissed. "I apologise. I should not have suggested anything. Apparently, there are times when the truth is _not_ welcome, after all." He strode forward, not giving Gilbert a chance to respond.

" _Roderich_." Erzsébet called after him, warningly.

The Austrian's step faltered for a moment, but he didn't stop. She watched him for a pace longer, her eyes narrowing.

Gilbert, surprisingly, let it go, placing his hand on her arm gently.

"It's cool," he said gently. "Me and Rod are never going to get on. Besides, at this point, it'd be plain weird if we did. You heard Matthias, what family doesn't have its' little tussles? Makes life interesting. Now, are you gonna be awesome and come have lunch with me or not?" He held an arm out invitingly, grinning at her.

Erzsébet rolled her eyes, but linked her arm through his all the same.

"You never change, Gil. Just…stay like this, ok?"

Gilbert grinned at her, his smile tinged with the faintest hint of something else.

"I promise. Would the awesome me ever let you down?"

Erzsébet shook her head, returning the grin.

"Gil, kindly shut up. Now, lets go and get some lunch. I don't know about you, but I for one am _starving_."

Gilbert's grin grew wider, if possible. "Now that's what I like to here." He looked forward to where Ludwig was waiting for them with an exasperated expression.

"Don't look at me like that, Luddy, we were just talking. Now open the door for the lady like the good little brother you are."

Ludwig glared at him, but held the door open all the same.

* * *

 _A/N AND I'VE HIT 10 CHAPTERS! YAY! Thanks to everyone who has favourited, followed, reviewed or just plain read up till now. I had no idea anyone else would like something like this, so it means so much to me that people actually want to read this. You guys rock!_

 _Having said that, this chapter was quite a jumble. I am aware that the tone changes around a lot, but I'm trying to write both comedy and realistic. I hope I've struck a good balance. I'd been reading way too much Prussia angst while writing this, so blame that._

 _For the record, this is not NedCan. I'm still 100% PruCan, but I wanted to add in the factual friendship a bit. I also had to give my sister an impromptu history lesson, since she apparently didn't know NedCan was an actual ship. Now she knows. As to the others, LuxemLicht is just simply adorable, don't you think? Hopefully Vash and Lars won't give them too hard a time over it. I don't intend to go anywhere with it, though, it's just a little aside. From the strips I can find, and personal headcanons, I reckon they would both be far too shy to do anything about their feelings. If anyone else likes it, I'll think about expanding on it though._

 _That about wraps it up. Things are about to get interesting from here on. I hope you enjoyed and stick around for the next chapter!_

Up next: Lars uses his salesman skills to brilliant effect, as usual.


	11. Shopping Time!

**Day (afternoon) Seven: In which supplies are bought and a true adventure is started.**

* * *

Chapter 11

They returned to the docks that afternoon. As before, it was busy, loud and typical of any sea-faring establishment. Upon reaching the port, Arthur, Francis and Antonio seemed to stand a little straighter, taking deep breaths of the salty air with their eyes closed and inhaling the familiar scent.

Alfred characteristically broke the former sailors (of a sort) from their reverie.

"So, this is cool and all, but why are we here again?" he asked.

Annoyed with the interruption, Arthur frowned at him. "We went over the plan at lunch," he said a little crossly. "At this point, we've more or less found everyone from our side of the world, at least those likely to be. Those of us we have yet to locate are, if this world makes any sense, likely to be a little too far away for the influence to reach. Which means we need to travel. For which, we will need to procure some form of transport. Unless you perhaps wish to try and swim the distance?"

Alfred's eyes lit up for a moment, his face bright. "So we're gonna buy a ship! Aw, man, and I totally called it as well!" He winked at Peter, who grinned back.

"Wait, that means we're gonna need to have a captain. Can I, please Artie? I'm the hero, so I could totally be a wicked captain!"

" _I think you'll find mon cherie has quite enough experience of that!"_ Francis quipped, just loud enough for the rest to hear.

He winced as the Englishman's hand landed a solid blow to the back of his head.

"Oh, shut it, you damn frog. You're a fine one to talk."

Antonio laughed, egging Francis on. The Frenchman took this as encouragement, and continued;

"Ah, the good old days. The open sea, the wind in our sails, the sound of cannon fire and the clash of… _swords_." His eyes gleamed with mirth, making the other laugh at his veiled joke. "Ah, to be a pirate again. It was a brilliant time, was it not?"

Arthur glared at him haughtily. "I was a _privateer_. In the service of the crown, damn you." He turned to Antonio, who was holding back laughter. His voice took on a sadistic tone.

"And as for _you._ Has your memory completely deserted you? Or do you perhaps need to be reminded of the finer points of history? The _Armada_ , say?" His eyes shone with a wicked gleam, earning a ferocious glare from the Spaniard, who started muttering under his breath until Lovino elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

"You're all damn bastards, whatever you were. Now are you gonna go and get a stupid ship or not?"

"Loviiiiiiii, be nice," Feliciano chided. His brother ignored him. His face looked slightly pale under the tan of his skin. Antonio laughed. "Lovi, are you scared of the ocean? Boss wont' let anything happen to you, you know?"

Lovino's face darkened in rage. "What the hell! I am not scared!" He folded his arms, refusing to look at any of them.

"Ve, but boats are so fun! Lovi, big brother Toni is right. Luddy will protect us too! And Big brother Francis, and Gil, and I suppose Arthur as long as he stays out of the ship's kitchen, because then we really would all die before we get to see the others, and then we wouldn't be able to go home and that would really suck!"

Lovino didn't bother responding to his brother, staring angrily out at the waves lapping gently against the dock. The only sign of his emotion was the faintest twitch of a muscle in his jaw.

"Lovi? Mi tomate, are you really scared of the ocean? I promise there is nothing to be scared of. Tell Boss what you are scared of?"

" _I'm not scared of any damn boat,"_ he muttered.

Antonio looked puzzled. "Then, what is it you are afraid of, Romanito?"

For once, Lovino didn't protest the Spaniard's affectionate title. It seemed as if he wasn't going to answer at all, until he suddenly whirled around, his eyes glinting with anger as he yelled "I've never been on the damn ocean, alright? So it's not my damn fault for being scared!"

He glared at the ground, refusing to look up. Feliciano gave him a look of confusion. "Ve, but _fratello_ , we have thousands of ships! Luddy does too!"

Lovino raised his head, directing his anger at the other. " _You_ do, you mean. _I_ never did."

Feliciano still looked confused. "Huh? What do you mean, _fratello_? We shared them, didn't we?"

Lovino gave him a withering look. He glanced over to Bella and Lars before turning away sharply. Bella gave him a knowing smile, but didn't say anything.

"Oh, forget it. You're too stupid to understand anyway. Just forget it. All of you. You're all bastards and I hate the lot of you." He stormed off in the direction of the town. Feliciano made as if to follow him, but Ludwig caught his arm, motioning him to stop.

Antonio sighed. "I suppose that is really my fault," he admitted. The rest of the group turned to him. He rubbed the back of his head apologetically. "I never let Lovi come with me on any of my journeys." He looked pleadingly at Bella, who returned his gaze sympathetically.

He sighed, continuing. "When I came back, I was usually injured in some way' -he shot a glare to Arthur, who looked away in embarrassed anger – 'so he probably didn't have the best image of seafaring. I never told him about what had happened, either. I just didn't want to worry him. He was so little and helpless, how could I take him with me? He was only a child. I couldn't have taken him on board with me, what would have happened to him if we were attacked? He wouldn't have been able to defend himself, and I wouldn't have been able to protect him if I was fighting someone else." He directed the last words to Arthur, who glared at him.

"What, you think I would have hurt a kid? My conduct may have been…less than stellar at times, but I _do_ have standards, you damn Spaniard. No harm would have come to the boy."

"Ve, me and Lovi are older than you, Arthur," Feliciano quipped.

The Englishman turned a suffering glance on him, rolling his eyes. Feliciano merely smiled at him, his gaze turning slightly thoughtful. "Hey, Arthur, grandpa Rome invaded you, si? You could be one of us!"

Arthur's face darkened, his brows drawing together dangerously. "That is _not_ something I wish to think about," he said flatly. He turned his heel on them, making his way towards the buildings at the end of the dock.

Francis waited a moment, then hurried after him. Antonio shook his head despairingly, then ran after him, saying something quickly and then running off, obviously to find Lovino.

Feliciano looked hurt, turning to the others sadly. "Ve? What did I say?" he asked plaintively.

Sebastian sighed quietly. "Never mind, Feli. Grandpa Rome invaded a lot of places. Some…were better than others."

Gilbert, who had been listening to the exchange in uncharacteristic silence, raised an eyebrow at that. "I'll say," he muttered, remembering his father and the wounds he himself had tended countless times. Sebastian, if he had heard him, ignored that.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but this is totally boring. While Artie's handling all that boring stuff, I say we go check some of these boats out! What d'you say, Mattie?"

Matthew had been looking off into the distance. "What? Eh, I really think it would be better to wait for Arthur and Francis to return," he said quietly. "They have more experience with this kind of thing, after all."

"Aww, man, you're no fun. Anyone else in for it?"

Ludwig stood straight, looking towards the buildings. "I will wait for the others' return. I admit I am not entirely comfortable with this plan."

Gilbert rolled his eyes affectionately. "Aw, don't worry, baby bruder. The awesome me is here, and I could captain a ship with my eyes closed! This is gonna be totally awesome!"

Ludwig looked rather less than impressed with that. Feliciano giggled. "Ve, Luddy likes dreadnaughts and submarines, don't you Luddy!" His face fell. "But that didn't work very well."

The tall German looked as if he was seriously contemplating throwing himself into the harbour. For once, Feliciano took the hint, and fell silent. He stared off into the distance, before brightening suddenly.

"Hey, Lars, you're really good at selling stuff, right? You can go and buy a boat for us! I bet you'd be able to get a really good deal!"

Lars rolled his eyes imperceptibly at the suggestion. Erzsébet laughed lightly. "I think that's the idea, sweetie," she said gently. Looking back at Lars, she smiled at him and Vash. "You know, you two really are the best at it, since Antonio is otherwise occupied. You go and get us the ship. If you need more money, Roderich has plenty."

He looked vaguely affronted at that, but a glance from her and he backed down. "W-well, I suppose we didn't really have much use for it," he admitted.

"Precisely. Now, off you go, boys. Myself, Bella and Lilli will get the other supplies, and we'll meet back here in no less than two hours, or back at the inn at sundown. Any disagreements?"

The men all shook their heads, bar Vash, who looked suspicious. "Why take Lilli with you?" he inquired. "She is just fine with me."

Erzsébet shot him a motherly glance. "Dear Vash, I know you mean well, but is this really the type of place you want someone so delicate to be? This is a very rough area, you know."

Vash's face darkened, but he nodded in agreement. "That sounds sensible." He turned to his little sister, who looked up at him hopefully. "Don't go anywhere without them, and don't listen to anything anyone tries to tell you. Don't let them sell you anything you don't want, and don't let them spend too much either. I don't like it, but I trust that Erzsébet won't let anything happen to you. I'll see you in two hours, alright?"

Lilli bore his tirade with remarkable fortitude. "Yes, big brother. I understand. I won't."

Vash nodded, mollified. "Good girl." He turned to look up at Lars. "Well, if that's settled, we shouldn't waste any time. I trust you have some idea of what vessel would be best?"

Lars merely nodded. The two of them left, leaving the others. Feliciano had wandered off, followed by Ludwig trying to chase him down. Gilbert stood staring out at the sea with a distant expression, seemingly in a world of his own. Erzsébet glanced at him, but decided to leave him to his reverie.

"I guess I'm coming with you then?" a quiet voice asked.

Erzsébet turned to see Henri standing with a faintly amused look.

"Of course you're coming with us, silly! We need a big strong man to carry everything for us!" Bella giggled.

Roderich looked vaguely affronted at the slight, making Erzsébet giggle.

Henri smiled tersely at his sister. "Of course, sis. Where would you be without me."

Bella mock-glared at him. She whirled round in a flurry of skirts, almost skipping off. Erzsébet smiled, rolling her eyes. She held out an arm to Lilli, linking together when the smaller girl stepped towards her shyly.

"I would have been ok with staying with big brother," she offered.

Erzsébet giggled. "I know, darling, but I really do need you for this. See, what your brother doesn't realise is that you have a very special talent."

Lilli looked confused. "I do?"

"M-hmm. You and Hans are our secret weapons. One look at you two and the vendors will fall over themselves to sell us whatever we need!"

Hans looked up briefly, hearing his name. Lilli didn't look convinced. "But big brother always says I look too naïve. He doesn't let me go anywhere by myself because he says people will try to take advantage of me. He buys me whatever I want, though."

"Exactly. But he's not here now, and we have plenty of money, and if what Arthur said is true at all, then this whole world isn't really real. So, we're free to buy whatever we want!"

"That's an interesting way of looking at it," Henri quipped. His eyes lit up with an idea. "So, if we were to _sell_ something, we could bargain for as much as we wanted. If this world isn't 'real', then the monetary system could be entirely different." His gaze drifted off as he thought. "I wonder how the economy works here. Any potential loans or fees would be entirely waived when we return, as they would have never really existed. Potentially, we could make a fortune!" His face fell slightly. "But then I suppose that means we won't be able to take any of it back with us. That's a shame."

Bella turned back to him, amused. "Oh dear. It seems you listened to Lars's lessons a little too much."

She turned her head to the others. "I left all of that side of his education to our brother. It seems as though he took to it far to quickly, and now the poor thing is simply obsessed with money and economics. It's useful to know, but at this rate he'll turn into an awful bore."

Henri flushed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I-I got a bit carried away there, didn't I?" he chuckled, self-deprecatingly.

"I think it's nice that you're passionate about it," Lilli spoke up. "Big brother always tells me that our economy is the most important part of us. We get sick if it goes bad, and healthy if it's good. So it's good to know about what's happening with the economy, not just our own, but globally."

Roderich nodded seriously. "Quite right. It's good to know Vash taught you about the important matters of our positions."

Lilli flushed pink with the praise, looking down and trying to hide her face with her hair. As she looked up again tentatively, her gaze caught Henri's, making her squeak and lower her head again. Erzsébet and Bella shared a knowing look, laughing at Henri, who had turned his head away, his face flushed the same delicate shade.

Bella raised an eyebrow, her face knowing. Erzsébet twisted her lips, trying not to laugh.

"Well, at any rate, we'd better get going, or we'll never be able to buy everything in time!"

"Hans, hold Roddy's hand," Erzsébet ordered, almost as an afterthought. The child looked up at her, questioning.

"Darling, don't argue with me. Roddy's sense of direction is terrible, so I need someone I can trust to make sure he doesn't wander off, alright?"

Hans' lips twisted in a faint smile. He reached up and gripped Roderich's hand tightly, smiling in uncharacteristic glee. Roderich's face darkened with anger, opening his mouth to complain, but closed it again at a sharp look from his ex-wife.

They set off back towards the town, the two women building a list of the supplies they needed. Henri and Lilli offered suggestions when asked, eyes meeting in tentative glances each time, which Erzsébet and Bella pretended not to notice.

Once there, they met up with Lukas, Matthias, Emil and Vlad, who had elected to stay in favour of procuring supplies of their own. The atmosphere was somewhat tense with Erzsébet and Vlad pointedly ignoring each other as usual, but with Hans and Alexandru in attendance they seemed to have reached a mutual agreement not to antagonise each other too fiercely.

Lukas had bought a collection of medicines and healing supplies, and was showing a bored Emil the basics of first aid when they arrived, his own head wound having healed nicely. Emil was half-heartedly listening while Matthias was sat on the edge of the fountain with his battleaxe resting on his knees, polishing it carefully.

Emil looked up at their approach. He took the opportunity to step away from his brother, looking towards them expectantly.

"Did Arthur send you back?" he asked.

"In a way," Erzsébet replied. "The others are all off finding a suitable ship for us, so it falls to us to get supplies. Have you got everything you need?"

Lukas nodded. "Pretty much. I take it everything will have to be transported down to the docks then?"

Erzsébet nodded. "They should be done in a few hours. We'll all stay in town tonight and hopefully be ready to set sail tomorrow."

Matthias looked excited at the prospect. "Aw, man, I can't wait! Bet you're excited too, huh Norge?"

Lukas looked less than impressed. "It's necessary."

Matthias' face fell. "Come on, Norge, you love the sea! All of us do! Ice, back me up here!"

The teenager shot a glare at him. "No I _don't_. It's inconvenient, it takes too long, and it makes me sick. We have planes for a reason."

"You're no fun," he pouted.

Emil simply rolled his eyes at him.

"Do you need any help?" he asked Erzsébet politely.

The Hungarian smiled at him. "Thank you, sweetie, that would be lovely." She turned to Lukas. "Do you have a spare roll of paper for a list?"

He nodded, opening his bag and handing one to her along with a pencil. "We've made a rough idea already, but you'll probably want to add to it."

Erzsébet nodded, taking it and scanning it quickly. "This looks brilliant. You're really good at organising, Lukas."

Lukas shot a glance to Matthias. "Someone had to be."

The Dane merely laughed. "Ah, you know you're better at all that house stuff than me, Norge. I do the fights, you do the cooking. And, uh, the budget. And cleaning. And, all the other stuff…"

Lukas raised an eyebrow at him. Matthias faltered. "Yeah, I guess I ought to do more around the house. I get it. Stop glaring at me. Ice doesn't do anything either."

"Lillebrør is a teenager, I expect him to be lazy."

Emil scoffed angrily. "I am not lazy! I have my own house. I do everything for myself at home."

Lukas regarded him coolly. "Home delivery shopping?"

The Icelander flushed, glaring. "It's not my fault I can't drive!" he retorted angrily. "It's your fault I don't look older. If you hadn't babied me so much perhaps I'd look as old as _you_ do now!"

Lukas raised an eyebrow at him with a look of fond condescension. Emil stood his ground, glaring with as much anger as he could muster.

They were interrupted with a faint giggle. Emil whirled round to see Lilli and Henri holding their hands over their mouths, controlling their laughter. Henri smiled at him, his face understanding.

"W-what's so funny?" Emil stuttered.

Henri composed himself. "Nothing. We all know what it's like to have older brothers, that's all. He may annoy you sometimes, but he really does mean the best for you. Right, Lilli?"

The girl looked up at him, her face tinting delicately. "M-hmm. Big brother says when I'm happy, he's happy. And when he's happy, I'm happy too. So please don't fight."

Emil flushed darker. "A-alright." He avoided Lukas' face, not wanting to see his triumphant smirk.

"Um, if you're all done fighting, can we get sweets, please?" Alexandru piped up.

Bella and Erzsébet burst into laughter. "Of course, sweetie," Erzsébet said. "Hans, take Alexandru to the stall over there. Choose whatever you want, and remember to get some for Peter too." She handed him a small pouch with some money in.

Hans took it with his free hand. Alexandru let go of Vlad's coat and ran over to him, his eyes wide with excitement. "Wow! We can get so much with this!" he cried. "Hey, Hans, what kind is your favourite?"

The boy considered the question thoughtfully. "Whatever takes the greatest skill to make," he concluded. "There's a reason cooking is called the 'culinary arts', after all. Confectionary has very high standards, although probably not nearly as much here as at home."

He looked up at Roderich. "In that respect, brother is quite good at baking," he said flippantly.

Roderich arched an eyebrow. "That's damning with faint praise, but at least you think I'm good for _something_."

"Mm. Let's go." Hans tugged Roderich's hand, drawing him towards the stall. Alexandru skipped beside them, his eyes gleaming as they drew nearer to the goods on display.

Bella and Erzsébet watched them for a moment, their faces motherly.

"Well, I trust Roddy won't let them get too carried away. Though he's such a spendthrift, and they're only young. Anyway, we really should get going or we'll never buy anything," Erzsébet stated. "Any preferences for where we start?"

The others shook their heads. They decided to work their way through the market, reasoning that they were bound to think of more things needed as they went.

All in all, it took rather longer than anticipated, and they returned to the docks almost three hours later. Gilbert had evidently grown bored at some point, and held a bag out to Peter, who was taking pieces of bread or pastries from it and throwing them into the air for the gulls to catch. Alfred and Matthew stood to the side, Matthew chatting quietly with Gilbert and Sebastian. Ludwig and Feliciano were nowhere to be seen, and the others evidently hadn't returned yet.

"Peter! We're back! And we got sweets!" Alexandru yelled excitedly.

Hearing his call, Peter threw the rest of the bread onto the water, where it was immediately snatched up by the waiting birds. He ran over to Hans and Alexandru, his eyes wide and curious.

"Really? What kinds?"

The three of them stood together, admiring their haul. Gilbert and Alfred laughed, Matthew rolling his eyes good-naturedly.

Seeing Peter's attention was quite clearly elsewhere, Gilbert threw the rest of the bread onto the water, then brushed his hands of crumbs, his red eyes glinting.

"Oooh, watcha got, Liz?"

She held the bag in her arms away from him. "Nothing for you," she said. "This is all to be stored away. Now, shut up and carry this." She shoved the bag at him, making him stumble. He tried to peer into it, shifting it as though to take something out, but retracted his hand guiltily as Erzsébet coughed pointedly.

Whatever he was going to reply with was lost as Bella clapped her hands happily, Henri and Lilli both smiling.

"Oh, look, they're back!" she exclaimed.

They turned to see Arthur, Francis and Antonio walking towards them, along with Ludwig and Feliciano, who was all but dragging a reluctant Lovino in tow. Lars and Vash followed, looking inscrutable as always, but with an air of satisfaction. With them was a short, balding man who was dressed in rather official robes and carrying a scroll of some sort.

"Yes, yes, I assure it's quite in order. No need to worry about anything, gentlemen. I assure you she's quite fit for seafaring, all our ships are held to the _highest_ standards. I quite understand if you would like to take a tour before making a final decision. As I have shown you, we have several _excellent_ vessels to choose from, all for a most _reasonable_ price. I-oh, are these gentlemen part of your party as well?"

The man stopped short at the others, his gaze flitting across everyone.

"Yes, we're a rather large group in total," Arthur said smoothly. "I trust that won't be a problem?"

"No, none at all," the man squeaked. He looked over to where Erzsébet and Bella stood with the children, his face turning down.

"Surely you will not be taking the women and children with you as well?" he asked incredulously. "Sea travel is not a suitable environment for the delicate."

Erzsébet bristled at that, but Roderich placed a hand on her arm warningly. Peter and Hans folded therir arms and huffed in annoyance.

"We're not stupid, you know. Or delicate," Peter shot. At a warning glare from Arthur, he backed down reluctantly, fuming silently. Hans matched his anger, frowning. Alexandru seemed unconcerned, although he looked out at the water with a face of vague apprehension.

"But of course," Francis cut in. "Varied experience is the very key to expanding a child's view of the world, and what better way for them to learn discipline and order than on the confines of a ship? I assure you, monsieur, they will be in the most excellent care in our hands, and under the control of one of the finest captains." He neglected that they had yet to decide _which_ exactly that would be, continuing smoothly, "there is no cause for concern, I assure you, sir." He treated the man to a winning smile, turning up his natural charm to the max.

The man bowed under the pressure of the Frenchman's dazzling aura, wilting. "Well, of course, I suppose so, yes…" he trailed off.

"Anyway, we have the deeds to all vessels currently available. I will leave you gentlemen to make a decision. Please do not hesitate to call upon me if you have need of any further assistance." With that, he turned and practically fled back to the dock buildings.

Francis raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "Gone so soon? _Mon dieu_ , and he was such a delight as well."

A ripple of laughter went around the group. "I take it you used most of it then," Lukas stated quietly.

Arthur smirked, drawing out a gold coin and flicking it between his fingers.

"Turns out having hundreds of these little things comes in rather handy," he gloated. "Poor little man was practically falling over backwards to help."

Antonio laughed. "I don't think he liked Lovi glaring at him. Romanito, you need to learn to be a little nicer, hey?"

Lovino glared at him, unimpressed. "Whatever, bastard."

"Lovi!" Feliciano tried to hug his brother again, making Lovino shove him away harshly in disgust. "Get off me, you idiot."

"Ve, Loviiiiii."

"Get _off_ me. Bastard, get him off." This was directed to Antonio, who cheerfully ignored him. "Lovi, be nice to your brother," he chided.

Lovino raised an eyebrow. "The hell? You're a fine example of that, you bastard," he retorted.

Antonio's eyes narrowed slightly, the only sign that the topic was a touchy one with him.

"Lovino," he warned.

Hearing Antonio's tone, the older Italian backed down, muttering under his breath. He sullenly glanced up at Ludwig, his eyes ordering him. Ludwig took the hint, hauling Feliciano off his brother like he was weightless. Feliciano let out a playful cry of defeat.

"Could have done that earlier, macho potato bastard," he muttered angrily. Ludwig ignored him, turning to Arthur and the others.

"I take it that was securing a ship for us all?" he inquired. Lars nodded. "Whichever we want, we buy. For a good price, too. It appears money makes the world go round no matter where you are." He looked rather satisfied at the thought, as did Vash.

"Anyway, we might have to make a few sacrifices, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. If needs be, Lukas, Vlad and myself can make any…adjustments to the interior. Temporarily, of course. Besides, I'm fairly certain it won't be too much of a problem anyway," Arthur stated cryptically.

He didn't elaborate on that, leaving Ludwig to raise an eyebrow at him suspiciously. "I don't suppose any of us are to be allowed in whatever you're thinking?" he asked sharply.

Arthur returned the glance coolly. He turned to the rest of the group. "If any of you want to come along, by all means, do."

Peter seemed fascinated by the prospect, having never been on what he called a 'true' ship. Being made of a steel, iron and concrete, that wasn't surprising. Hans had no interest in it, seeming far more interested in the view of the horizon, and was quite content to sit on the harbour wall drawing on some paper Arthur had given him. Erzsébet watched over him indulgently, praising his skills and making sure he didn't lean over too far and fall into the harbour.

Alexandru seemed rather unsure of the ships, staying close to his brother's side for a while before running out and going to sit with Hans. Being a landlocked country, he had never had need to develop any kind of navy or shipping, and looked up at the tall ships with an unsure expression.

Somehow, likely due to the stringent investigation Lars and Ludwig applied to each and every vessel, one was eventually deemed worthy. The two went back to the office to seal the deal, returning a short time later.

"Thank goodness I decided to focus on amassing funds instead of spending," Arthur muttered, seeing the deflated purse.

Francis didn't seem bothered. "Ah, _mon amie_ , but this is just a game, _non_? You can simply earn more, or however it is done."

Arthur glared at him. "That is _not_ the point." He looked away, annoyed, then sighed. "I suppose I should be glad he accepted a bribe at all. Something to be said for medieval society, after all." He sighed. "Anyway, the lease is signed. The ship is ours for however long it takes. As long as the weather holds we can sail tomorrow."

"I hate to ask, but you do know where you're going?" Ludwig asked.

Arthur shot him a disdainful look. "Do you think I've been carrying this map around for show?" he asked acidly, waving it at the German. "Even without that, it would be a simple enough matter. We simply sail east, after all. This world is based on our own. We're bound to make landfall soon, regardless."

Ludwig didn't look particularly mollified, but reluctantly agreed.

With their transport procured, the rest of the day was spent hauling the supplies on and arranging as much as possible of the interior. After that, there was nothing to do but wait for the next day. Weather depending, they would be off on a true adventure.

* * *

 _A/N Wow, this was the longest chapter so far. Yay!_

 _And so, the boat is bought. Well done, Lars. Intimidation tactics work well. That and a very large purse. Go money!_

 _So, now things are really starting to pick up. Who will be found next? Guesses and questions abound. Feel free to place your votes and I shall neither confirm nor deny any of them._

 _I do have a small confession to make. As far as I can think, the only character I won't be able to include is Cuba, purely because he wouldn't really fit. See, during the medieval period (13th-16th centuries) which this is very loosely set in, it was owned by, variously, the Spanish, French and British, but since I've focused more on Pirate!FrUK and Spain, I'm not really sure how to work that in. Sorry for anyone who wanted to see him. (In a blatant display of self-promotion, he's fairly prominent in my other fic Second Chances. I'd really love if anyone wanted to check that out as well.) As for everyone else, it's all worked out. I will be playing rather fast and loose with what constitutes 'historical fact', though, so please don't flame me for interweaving different periods of history. I'm fairly certain everything is tied in to roughly the same time, but if not, oh well._

 _Well, that about wraps it up for this chapter. Sorry for rambling. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next! I'm off to rewatch Voltron: Legendary Defenders before catching up with season 5. Trying to avoid spoilers, but that'll teach me not to look at memes before I've actually seen it. Whoops._

Up next: The trials and tribulations of group travel. What fun.


	12. A-Sailing we shall go

**Days eight-fourteen: In which sea travel goes remarkably smoothly and a journey is almost complete.**

* * *

Chapter 12

Thankfully, the weather _did_ hold fair. With the last of the supplies transported on, it was time to leave. How long it would take, they had no idea. Given that they had the advantage of magic, and the length their journeys had taken so far, Arthur had reckoned on a travelling time of no less than a week.

Being back on a ship held strange memories for them all. For Arthur, it was a chance to recover one of his most powerful periods of history, and era in which he felt free, powerful and in control. Francis and Antonio felt much the same: regardless of the Englishman's might and their ultimate failure, the centuries they had spent as captains had been an age of discovery and expansion arguably unlike any other.

The others were decidedly less eager. Feliciano and Lovino both had relied on trade for most, if not all of their lives, building on Rome's vast legacy. Neither had a particular interest in it, however, generally not concerning themselves with the day to day details of their ports, preferring to stick to politics. Lovino, especially, regarded ships with a degree of trepidation. Having seen his self-proclaimed 'boss' coming back injured, sometimes gravely, from battle after battle during the armada had given him an understandable reluctance to be on the ocean himself.

Gilbert, surprisingly, seemed rather excited with the prospect. His last memories of lengthy travel were the crossing to Acre during the crusades, and he had faint but fond memories of the childish excitement he had felt then. That his brother and cousin did not seem to share his excitement didn't bother him in the slightest. Ludwig was too young to have remembered wooden ships, and although Roderich held no particular grudge against sea travel, he was certainly _not_ pleased with the prospect of up to a week spent with no way of avoiding Gilbert.

However, fortunately (or unfortunately, depending) Erzsébet was there to act as mediator, or things would likely have come to a head. Unfortunately, she herself was less than happy with being in a confined space with Vlad, leading to several snippy comments.

Luckily, Lars had found a ship that offered both numerous cabins and sheer size. With enough room for everyone to have their own space, they had managed to sort out sleeping arrangements relatively agreeably. It was decided that the women and children would sleep in the cabins, both to deter arguments between any of the adults and for security, as they could be locked and defended in the unlikely event of any attack. Peter, Alexandru and Hans shared one, while Lilli, Erzsébet and Bella shared the other. The two were adjoined with a small door, allowing the children to knock if they needed anything.

A routine was established fairly quickly. Each of them took turns navigating, sharing the task if not willingly, then at least fairly civilly. By mutual consent, there was no real captain, instead a sort of joint authority that the eldest nations knew what they were doing. If the others held any doubts, they at least didn't voice them.

A few days after setting sail, Alfred found Arthur sitting staring pensively out towards the ocean.

"What's up, British dude? You look kinda down."

Arthur gave him a sideways glance, then stared back out. He sighed. "Nothing. I'm simply thinking."

"Ooh, dangerous."

Arthur shot him a mild glare this time, making Alfred duck his head in apology. "Seriously though, what's up?"

The Englishman turned to face him this time. His expression was closed, almost worried. He didn't answer for a long time, instead turning to face the deck, where the children were running around in some sort of game, watched over by Roderich, Vlad and Lukas chatting quietly near them.

"Is this really a good idea?" he asked quietly, almost to himself.

Alfred burst into loud laughter. The others looked up at him briefly, then turned back to their conversation.

"Is that it? Kinda late to be wondering that, isn't it?"

Arthur sighed again. "You're right. Nevertheless, we are taking a rather large risk here. Of course I wouldn't have suggested it without good reason, but there is still uncertainty."

To his surprise, Alfred didn't refute him. "Yeah, but so what?"

Arthur stared at him in surprise. "I beg your pardon?" he asked.

Alfred stared back innocently, head titled slightly. "Well, we already decided that this whole magic thing is gonna draw everyone to us anyway, right?" The Englishman nodded, not quite understanding.

"So, even if you are totally wrong and everyone isn't even wherever you're taking us, it shouldn't matter, right? They're all gonna find us sooner or later anyway. And if they _are_ wherever we're going, then we're gonna find them that much quicker. If not, they'll still come to us at some point, it'll just take longer. And, like, the kids'll love it, and I'm buzzing for this whole thing, so it's all cool. Just lighten up, dude! It'll all be fine!"

Arthur blinked in surprise. "Well, I suppose. That's one way of looking at it." He looked away, the tiniest hint of a small smile on his face.

Alfred beamed at him.

They sat in companionable silence for a moment, until they were disrupted by Feliciano coming up from the gallery to tell everyone that lunch was ready. He and Lovino had immediately declared themselves as the cooks, which no-one had contested.

Everyone made their way into the long galley kitchen for the food. The cramped quarters meant that it wasn't really possible for everyone to eat together, meaning meals were a rather disjointed affair.

No-one really minded this, however, as they had all dispersed into their family groups.

The ship itself was something of a cross between a longship and galleon. The deck was large and open for the main part, with the captain's quarters at the helm and the entrance to the rest of the ship at the stern. The kitchen and pantry had been fully taken over by the Mediterranean's, with the rest going in only when necessary.

Somehow (the large purse had probably had a great deal to do with it) Lars and Vash had managed to find a vessel that was designed more for travel than cargo, allowing them a higher degree of relative luxury. Vlad, Arthur and Lukas had managed to spell the empty decks below into something rather more comfortable, which at least meant that they were spared having to sleep in hammocks.

All in all, they were remarkably lucky, and reflected that it was by far the worst experience most of them had had with sea travel.

The children, of course, didn't know any different. Alexandru had been on a ship only once before, when he had been taken to the Ottoman court. However, as now, he had been with Vlad and Erzsébet, as well as several others. As before, he spent most of the first day in the cabin being tended to by Vlad, the rocking of the ship having given him a typical case of seasickness. After a few hours, Vlad had gently put him to sleep with a spell to stave off the worst of it. Thereafter, Lukas summoned his troll to blow into the sails, smoothing their course and increasing their speed.

Peter had taken one look at the rigging and declared himself the lookout, to which none of the others opposed. Arthur had shown him how to scale the mess of ropes to the crows nest, and he happily spent hours sitting there with Arthur's telescope, staring out at the ocean diligently. When he inevitably tired of it, Emil took over, muttering that it was the only way he was likely to get some peace and quiet.

The teen came down from the rigging one day with a puffin on his shoulder, which no-one quite understood. His own had, as far as they knew, not been subject to the spell, so it was anyone's guess as to whether this was the same bird or simply a temporary substitute. As he refused to elaborate, however, the matter was dropped.

They had been at sea roughly five days when Peter called out that he could see land. He came down the rigging so fast that he almost fell, and was only saved by Alfred's quick reflexes.

"Whoa, slow down, little British dude. What's the matter? Seen a mermaid?"

Peter's eyes gleamed with excitement. "No, better!"

"Better than a mermaid? What could be better than that?" Alfred played along. Matthew smiled at him, encouraging.

"LAND!" Peter cried.

Alfred grinned at him. "Really?"

Peter nodded. "I'm sure," he declared. "About twenty miles, I'd say."

"Well, you better tell everyone then," Matthew replied.

Peter beamed at them both, turning and running along the deck.

"Land!"

Lukas looked up from where he had been reading, Matthias polishing his axe. Emil looked up, his expression shifting into something like relief. Peter grinned, turning to dash down the stairs below deck.

"Land!"

Lars looked up from where he and Vash had been taking an inventory of the stock. Bella clapped her hands happily, and Henri and Lilli exchanged a smile. Peter beamed and ran back into the galley.

"Land!"

Sebastian turned from where he had been cooking and grinned at him. "Really? That's wonderful! Hear that, Lovi? You get to get away from us soon!"

Lovino lifted a hand and gestured at him rudely, making his brother laugh. Feliciano joined in. Ludwig and Gilbert exchanged a relieved look. Peter grinned and ran back up onto the deck.

"Land!"

Erzsébet and Roderich turned from where they had been standing talking together. "Oh? That's lovely, darling. It'll be good to get back on land, won't it Roddy?"

Roderich looked extremely pleased at the prospect. Hans lifted his head and gave a quick nod of agreement before bending down to his drawing again. Peter grinned at them, running in to their cabin.

"Land!"

Vlad and Alexandru looked up, smiling. "Really? I wanna see too!" Peter grinned at him, and the two ran out, Vlad following at a slower pace.

The two boys made their way up to the last place of all, where Arthur and Francis stood at the wheel, the map in front of them.

"Arthur!"

They both turned to the side to see Peter's wide grin.

"Yes? This had better be important, Peter," he answered.

"It is! Really really really important!" he countered.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Unless you've seen land, it can wait, whatever it is."

Peter simply smirked at him.

"You've seen land?" Arthur asked.

"Yep!"

"Where?" he pressed.

"Twenty miles. Straight ahead." Peter pointed to the helm. Sure enough, there was a darker blue line on the horizon, growing steadily.

Arthur took out a telescope from his pocket, extending it. "So there is. Well done, Peter." He put the telescope back, ruffling the boy's hair. Peter made a small sound of protest, flattening his hands on his head. Arthur merely chuckled.

"Well, you'd best call everyone together then. Francis, go and tell everyone to meet on the deck. I don't know how accurate this map is, so I'll have to stay here to bring her to shore."

He drew something out of his pocket and handed it to Peter, who took it. It was a large conch shell, pink and white with a spray of pale freckles across the back.

"What's this for?" he asked, curious.

Arthur glanced at him. "I need you to take this and go back up to the crows nest. It has a communication spell on it. I don't know what the shoreline is like here, so I need you to guide me in, alright? And don't even think of doing anything funny, I'm relying on you for this. Don't let me down."

"Yes Sir!" Peter grinned, clutching the shell and running back off. Arthur watched as he scaled the rigging effortlessly, hoisting himself into the crows nest and taking up his post.

Francis raised an eyebrow. "He's even better at that that you were," he commented.

Arthur shot him a glare. "Shut up, Frog. He's my little brother, of course he'd be good at sailing. Now did I or did I not tell you to go and assemble everyone? Hop to it."

" _Oui, mon capitaine."_ Francis saluted extremely sarcastically, sashaying off as though he had all the time in the world. Arthur watched him go, trying not to enjoy the view. Francis raised a hand slowly, waving. He turned at the bottom of the steps, winking at him and blowing a kiss. Arthur wrenched his head away sharply, staring forward determinedly.

Francis' laughter drifted up to him on the salt-laden air as he went below decks to carry out his orders.

The next few hours were spent in a hive of activity preparing to come into shore. As they drew closer, the shoreline came into focus. Arthur slowly turned the ship around to manouver in, with Peter directing him from the crows nest. Once they were close enough to be able to see the shoreline from the deck, he scurried back down to stand at the wheel with Arthur.

The ship was brought smoothly into port. Arthur stood at the wheel, waiting for the right moment. With a sharp nod, Antonio and Gilbert jumped down onto the wooden deck. Francis tossed the heavy rope to them, and they wound it around one of the many wooden posts set at regular intervals along the dock. With the anchor dropped, the ship was finally in port. They had made it.

* * *

 _A/N So there we go! They're here! Woo!_

 _This chapter was a bit of a struggle. Apologies for the late update, but I had a bit of writer's block deciding on how to split this up. Eventually, I decided it worked better this way, so although this chapter is the shortest so far, it flowed much better than having it all in one. So you can skip this if you want and go straight on, I'm just rambling._

Up next: Families. You argue with 'em and you hate 'em, but you love them all the same. Food always helps too.


	13. Less Arguing, More Eating

**Day (afternoon) fourteen: In which families meet, bicker and food is an eternal peace offering.**

 **A/N. Warning for, and I quote, 'disgustingly sappy and cute reunion scene.' You have been warned. All blame goes to EmiKougamine, so hah.**

* * *

Chapter 13

It was with some relief that they all made their way onto firm land once again. Ludwig ran the gangplank down for them, looking incredibly relieved to be off the ship. The rest followed, Peter and Alexandru tearing their way down and giggling at the slightly dizzy feeling of solid ground under their feet. Hans followed them rather more sedately, but with a hint of a smile as he saw the adult's slight stumbling as well.

Having stayed to make sure everything on board was tight, Arthur was the last to leave. He came down the gangplank holding a scroll, which he handed to Lars.

"Show this to whoever is the authorities around here. You were the one who signed the contract, so you'll have to. If this works the same as anywhere else, it should be enough to let us dock here."

Lars nodded sharply. He turned on his heel and strode forward determinedly, his scarf trailing out behind him.

They watched him go for a moment. "And if not?" Francis enquired mildly.

Arthur shot him a glance. "Then you'll have to swim, won't you?" He shook his head crossly. "That will be quite enough, I assure you. If not, we still have enough to bribe them. That will work wonders."

"Bribery should never be used to overrule the authorities," Ludwig stated sharply. Gilbert clapped him on the shoulder, sighing dramatically. "You still have so much to learn, little brother." He shook his head sadly. "Loosen up a little, would you? This isn't home, the rules don't apply here."

Ludwig frowned at that, shaking his brother's hand off. "That is no excuse."

Gilbert threw his hands in the air, defeated. "Aah, you're too young. You'll learn."

Ludwig merely raised an eyebrow, turning his head away. Gilbert rolled his eyes affectionately, making Francis and Antonio laugh. Ludwig's pale cheeks darkened with anger, but he refused to look at his brother.

They waited for Lars to return, passing the time by looking around with interest. The feeling of the docks was very different to the town they had left. That had been largely open, set back a way from the main town, and built of stone and timber.

Bathed in the late afternoon light, the buildings were made of dark, stained wood, leaning against each other almost haphazardly. Their large, stately galleon looked very out of place, surrounded by low, thin sloops, their long, narrow triangular sails pointing up to the sky as if reaching for the weak sunlight. The air smelt not of fish, brine and wood, but of spice and silk and altogether foreign.

The children were peering around curiously, their faces wide with amazement as they took in the sights and smells around them. They sniffed the air, giggling when the scent of food made their stomachs grumble.

"Arthur, can we go get something to eat? Please? I'm boooored," Peter moaned.

Arthur gave him a halfhearted wave. "You might as well get something for all of us then. Here." He handed him a purse, tutting when Peter all but snatched it from him. He took a quick glance inside, marvelling, then his face twisted in thought.

"Will this be ok?" he asked, looking up at his brother.

Arthur looked down at him. "What? Oh, yes. I should think so. I made sure to change it before we left. Look, get someone to go with you, alright? I have to wait here for Lars."

"I'll take them," Antonio offered. Arthur glanced at him gratefully, nodding.

"Then I'm coming too, bastard. I'm starving, damn it."

Antonio turned to Lovino with a winning smile. "Why do you think I offered, _querido_?" he asked simply.

Lovino glared at him, but couldn't think of a comeback. "F-fine," he muttered eventually. "But this doesn't mean anything. You just said it first, bastard."

Antonio shook his head, amused. "Of course not, Lovi."

"D-don't laugh at me, you bastard!"

Antonio's eyes glinted with

"Come on, come on! I'm hunggggrrryyyy." Alexandru tugged at his brother's sleeve, pulling him towards the others. "Hans, are you coming?" he turned back to the micronation, who shook his head. "I'm quite alright. I'll wait here."

Alexandru nodded happily. "Ok! I'll get something yummy for you, don't worry. But we. have. to. hurry. up!" he tugged Vlad's sleeve with every word, using all of his small weight to pull him forward. Vlad looked down at his brother fondly, allowing the boy to tug him forwards.

"Alright, alright, we're going!" Vlad pulled his sleeve out of the boy's hands, lifting his arm high. Alexandru pouted until Vlad lowered it again, then gripped his hand, almost jumping up and down with excitement.

Antonio laughed softly at the boy's actions. "Lovi, why couldn't you have been like that when you were little?" he asked.

Lovino simply scowled at him. He glanced towards Alexandru, his face almost softening slightly.

"Shut up," he said sharply. "You heard the kid, let's go. I'm starving."

"I'm coming too!" Feliciano ran forwards to his brother. Lovino rolled his eyes, but for once didn't object.

The six of them made their way towards the town, guided by the scents drifting towards them. It wasn't long before Feliciano stopped, tugging on Lovino's arm to make him stop.

"What is it, bastard?"

Feliciano pointed towards them. Through the crowds of people milling around, they could see a large group standing to one side, evidently deep in discussion.

Many of them were obviously family, all with the same dark hair. The others were a mixture, two seeming like leaders with their tall statures and proud bearing. The brothers both shuddered at them, Lovino remembering his years trying to evade capture from the masked man.

"What's up?" Vlad asked, seeing them both staring. He followed their gaze across the square, his eyes lighting up as he saw the man standing a little ways apart from them.

"Oh, brilliant!" he said.

"What? What? I can't see!" Alexandru tried to peer through the crowd, but with his shorter height, he couldn't quite see. Vlad picked him up, pointing across the square to them. Alexandru's eyes lit up too, and he wriggled in his brother's hold until Vlad put him down again.

Antonio looked across, his gaze darkening when he caught sight of someone.

"We'll go and get the food," he said. Lovino frowned at him. "Why us?" he asked crossly.

"Come on, Lovi, didn't you say you were starving?" Antonio avoided his question.

Lovino's glare intensified, but he caught sight of the man Antonio had seen, rolling his eyes in understanding.

"Fine. It was about your turn anyway," he said to Vlad.

"Mmm. Go on then. Meet us back at the ship."

Lovino scoffed at the order. He snatched the purse out of Peter's hand, ignoring the boy's protest, grabbed Feliciano's arm and marched off towards one of the many stands. Antonio followed, casting one last glance across the square. By coincidence, the man looked up at the same moment. His eyes narrowed in recognition. Antonio held his gaze a second longer, then turned away sharply.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Peter protested. "Why did you let him take the purse?"

"Because," Vlad answered.

"Because what?"

Vlad nodded towards the square. Peter followed his gaze, looking doubtfully at the group.

"Leon won't buy me anything," he said sadly. "He thinks I'm just a kid. Just because he's older than me. And he plays pranks on me!"

Vlad held back a laugh. "Yeah, and? It's what brothers do. I'm sure you do the same to him." He ruffled Alexandru's hair, looking down at him. Alexandru grinned up at him, not denying it. Peter sputtered, but couldn't exactly refute it.

"Anyway, you'll have more luck than anyone else. Come on." He stepped forward, strolling towards them. Alexandru and Peter followed, the latter still grumbling under his breath.

Alexandru tried to match his brother's slow walk, but seeing the group in front of them it wasn't long before his patience ran out. He tore his hand from Vlad's and dashed forward, ignoring the warning Vlad called after him.

"Dimi! Dimi!"

He crashed into the dark haired man, who turned with puzzled expression. Looking down, his face broke into a smile as he saw the boy clinging on to him. He looked up to see Vlad calmly walking towards him, Peter hot on his heels.

"Hey."

Dmitri nodded at him, returning his greeting. He hefted Alexandru into his arms absently, making the little nation squeal happily and cling on to his shoulders.

Dmitri held him for a moment, then made as if to drop him, holding him out to Vlad. "Yours, I believe."

"What? Me? No. You can have it." He smiled at Alexandru, who kicked him playfully.

"It does seem to like me," Dmitri agreed. He set Alexandru down, keeping one arm on his shoulder.

"But seriously, what on earth is going on?" he asked the Romanian.

"Brother was playing a game and then his friend cast a spell and we all ended up here but you weren't here so we had to get a boat and now we're here and everyone's all here and we can go home now!" Alexandru explained.

Dmitri looked across at Vlad helplessly. "Right."

Vlad chuckled "it's like this," he said. "Uh, wait. Guys!" he called across to the others.

Ivan turned to him with a faintly curious look. Gulping slightly, Vlad tried to look nonchalant. "I guess you'll want to hear this too," he suggested.

"Nah. I get it."

He turned to the one who had spoken. Leon looked serious, as always, but his dark eyes shone with amusement.

"The old man tried to do magic and it went spectacularly wrong, am I right?"

Vlad tilted his head. "A bit more than that, but yeah, I guess."

Leon shrugged. "Good enough. So I'm guessing this was that whole 'game made real' thing he came up with ages ago."

Vlad gaped at him. "How do you know about that?!" he asked incredulously.

The teen shrugged again. "Went through his books one day and a piece of paper fell out. Seemed to be some kind of spell. It looked pretty old even then, so he'd obviously never used it. Guess this was what he was doing when we were all together, then? I kinda remember something weird happening, but it's like I forgot about it till now."

"Hey, you're right!" A voice cut in. Leon glanced at Yong-Soo, who raised a hand to his chin in thought.

"We were all round my laptop, you remember? Man, and it was totally getting to the good part too!"

"Hai. That's right." Kiku flushed when the attention turned to him. "So, you are saying that Arthur-san cast a spell for the game he and the others were playing, and it sent all of those who were in the room at the time into the game itself?"

Vlad nodded, impressed. "You know, you guys get this a lot quicker than the others did," he remarked.

Kiku flushed again, looking away. "I…am familiar with this situation," he admitted quietly.

"Aww, he's gone shy! Just admit it, you're an otaku! Though manga totally originated in me, da-ze!" Yong-Soo jeered.

Kiku shot him a dark glare. "That is not true. It is a highly debateable matter."

"Dude, you were the one who showed us that show to start with," Leon put in.

"Stop teasing him!" Mei grabbed Kiku's arm protectively, siding with him. "I liked it. Just because you can't lay claim to it doesn't mean you can insult it."

They kept bickering until they were interrupted by an exasperated cry.

"AI-YAH! Shut up! All of you! Just shut up!" Yao reached up and cuffed Yong-Soo again, making him wince. Paulo, Lien and Somchai exchanged amused smiled. _They never learn, do they?_

Yong-Soo opened his mouth to argue, stopping when Yao turned his fierce glare on him "Don't start! You are centuries too young to talk back to me, you hear? And the rest of you, quiet!" The three elder nations hid their laughter behind their hands. Antonio and Miguel chuckled, sharing a smile.

The bickering youngsters quietend down immediately, ashamed. Yao regarded them all for a moment, his eyes flashing in anger, then turned to Vlad politely.

"Sheesh, they are exhausting. You were saying?"

Vlad merely smiled. "They got it pretty right. Me, Arthur, Alfred and Matthew were playing, Alfred complained it was boring, Arthur cast the spell, and hey presto. The reason you didn't know what was going on is because you weren't playing the game, so you were sort of put into a role anyway. You began to remember because we were getting closer to you. So, we're here now."

"Matvey is here? And Alfred?"

Vlad turned to Ivan reluctantly. "Y-yes. Both of them. Why?"

Ivan merely nodded happily, but didn't say. Yao's dark eyes flashed with something, but he didn't comment.

"Anyway, you said the others are waiting? Where are they?" he asked.

"Back at the docks. Lars went off to register or whatever. And-oh, here they are now, actually."

Whatever Vlad was going to say was lost by the appearance of Feliciano, Lovino and Antonio, who were all holding large bags filled with something that drifted steam.

"Hey, you guys! Wow, there's so many of us now!" Feliciano cheered. He jerked back slightly when his gaze met Ivan, drawing close to Kiku.

"Here, look! Food! It's not pasta, but it's really yummy!"

Kiku looked into the bag doubtfully, his expression clearing as he saw the sweet dumplings. He took one politely, muttering 'itadakisamu' under his breath.

"Here!" Feliciano handed the bag to Mei, who passed it around.

Lovino had been accosted by Peter and Alexandru, who reached up demandingly.

"Why, you little!" he cut himself off, trying to moderate his language for them. Peter laughed at him. "You really don't need to try that," he said. "Arthur swears all the time. It's not like its _bad_. Not like really really bad. Not like-"

"OK! I get it! Shut up!" Lovino glared at him, although nowhere near as fiercely as usual. "You shouldn't even know words like what you were going to say." His eyes glinted in amusement. He leaned down to the boy, whispering.

"But if you want to know how to _really_ swear, come to my place. I'll teach you things that would make even that bastard blush and run to his mother!"

Peter gazed up at him wonderingly. "Really? |We don't have a mother, but that would be really cool!"

Lovino nodded, trying not to laugh. "Sure. Whenever you want."

"Lovi, what was that?"

Lovino and Peter both stifled giggles. "Nothing, bastard."

Antonio looked slightly suspicious, but walked past him to the others.

Taking a deep breath, he smiled brightly at them. "Hola, Miguel."

His brother regarded him questioningly. Although they weren't exactly enemies, the two had never been very close, each occupied with their own colonies. Consequently, their meetings were always a little distant, each not quite knowing what to say to the other.

Antonio still held the bag out, his expression hopeful. After a moment, Miguel leaned forward, taking it from him. He reached in and took a dumpling, biting into it slowly.

His eyes widened in amazement. "Hey, this is really good!" he exclaimed. He gave the bag to Paulo, who took it gratefully. "Thank you."

"de nada." He turned back to his brother.

"It's good to see you."

Antonio smiled tensely. "Yes."

"We didn't talk at the last meeting."

"No. Lo siento. I was busy."

The two stared at each other for a long moment, until, almost simultaneously, they fell forward, hugging each other tightly.

"You're an idiot," Miguel said.

"Si. Whatever you say." Antonio hugged him back fiercely. Paulo looked vaguely amused, smiling politely.

Lovino raised an eyebrow. "Weird bastards. You're both the same."

He walked around them to hold the bag out again. "Here. Share them out, or whatever."

"Hey, cool! It's, like, totally sweet! Liet, have you ever had anything like before? It's totally yummy!"

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Whatever, weirdo."

Feliks narrowed his eyes. "You're, like, totally mean, you know." Lovino gasped mockingly. "No shit, dumbass."

Feliks grinned at him, bursting into laughter. "See, you act all mean, but you're actually totally not. You're pretty cool."

Lovino looked vaguely surprised at that. He looked away, frowning slightly.

Toris reached out and took the bag from Feliks' hands, passing it over to Ivan, who took one happily.

One by one, they each took one. Natalia and Eduard both waved it away, not wanting one. Sofia and Ivan were both licking their lips delicately, laughing when they saw each other's mirrored actions. Raivis held his delicately, at first nibbling at it like a rabbit, then taking a larger bite when he tasted the delicious filling. Toris made sure everyone else had had one before taking the last himself.

Meanwhile, the prospect of food had temporarily stopped the others from bickering. Yong-Soo had taken one look at the bag and crowed delightedly, as usual proclaiming that it was his. Yao cuffed him again, warning them sternly not to make any more of a disturbance than they already had.

Once they all had one, Kiku took the bag and walked a little ways off to where the last of the group were standing.

"Please, take one. It is quite delicious." He held the bag out politely.

"Is it?" a sleepy voice asked.

Kiku nodded to the man. As usual, Heracles looked half-asleep, standing in the late afternoon sun shading his eyes with one hand lifted lazily to his head.

"Ignore him. Shove it in his mouth, maybe he'll choke on it. Oy, catboy, wake up. Jappy offered you something. Be nice and take it."

"Sadiq-san, please, there is no need for such language. There is quite enough for all of us."

Sadiq smiled widely at him. "Ah, you're too polite. Hera is lazy, he wouldn't eat at all if someone wasn't here to look after him. How he even survived before I took him I don't even know."

Heracles glared at him. Taking the bag from Kiku, he reached in slowly.

"Oh, look. Just enough for all of us. Gupta, would you like one?"

The little Egyptian nodded sharply. "Thank you." He nodded a greeting to Kiku, who returned it in the same manner.

Typically, it wasn't long before Sadiq and Heracles started bickering. With a shared glance, Kiku and Gupta exchanged a barely perceptible eye roll and left them to it, returning to the rest.

"So, what is the plan?" Yao asked.

"Well, now that you're here, it's really a case of going back to Arthur. Are we missing anyone?" Vlad looked around, trying to see them all.

"Nope. This is all of us."

Vlad looked at him curiously. "So, were you guys all here together, or what?"

"Nyet. We arrived a little later," Ivan cut in. Vlad turned to face him. "Oh?"

"Ivan is right. All of us were together. If what you say is true, this is because we are a family group, right?" Yao confirmed.

Kiku looked slightly annoyed at that, but refrained from commenting.

"Si. Or that you have…historical ties," Antonio added. His eyes flicked between his brother and Paulo, who smiled genially at him.

"Well, at any rate, they're all waiting for us at the docks."

"Wait!" Feliciano cried. The others all turned to him, startled by his outburst.

He grinned sheepishly at them. "Uh, we were supposed to bringing them snacks too, remember?" he giggled.

"Tch. They can get their own."

"Lovino."

"What? I'm not their servant. They want food, they can get their own." Lovino crossed his arms, annoyed.

"Lovino-kun, I think Feli-kun is right. If they are all waiting for us, it would only be polite to bring them what they asked for. I will come with you to buy some."

"Yay! Let's go then! Let's go! Kiku, come on!"

Lovino glanced at Kiku, rolling his eyes in exasperation, making a face behind his brother's back. Kiku smothered a laugh, making Lovino smirk in satisfaction.

"Hai, Feliciano-san. We are coming."

"Kikuuuuuuu, I told you not to call me that. It's Feli! Fe-li!"

"Of course, Feliciano-san." He shot a sideways glance to Lovino with a small smirk of his own.

Kiku turned back to the group. "We will meet you at the docks. I will give them your greetings. Please try to be prompt."

Yao rolled his eyes. "Ai-yah, will you never loosen up? Yes, we won't be long. Go on, hurry up. You know how cranky eyebrows gets. Go, shoo."

Kiku glared at him. Turning sharply, he caught up to Lovino and Feliciano, shaking his head in response to the brothers' question. He pointed across the square, and the three of them walked off.

* * *

 _A/N Aww. Did I do ok, sis? Here's the thing. She hates Turkey, but I do have a soft spot for him, and unfortunately for her the Ottoman empire was quite large, so he's here. So she said she would only read something with him if I agreed to include a 'disgustingly sappy and cute' reunion scene with Vlad, Dmitri and Alexandru. Obviously, she is far better at writing Moldova than me (please, go check out her stories, they're all amazing), but I hope I did ok with it. I tried to include as much from canon as possible with this, hence Lovi and Kiku. The Wikia says that they are very good friends, to the point that Kiku refers to him with 'kun' instead of 'san', and that Romano in turn respects him a lot._

 _As to why he calls Feli 'san' sometimes instead, it's purely to wind him up. He seems to get pretty annoyed with him at times in the anime, so it's his way of showing his subtle annoyance while gently teasing him. I imagine Feliciano is well aware of this, so it's all in good fun for them both. Flame me if you don't like it, but I thought it seemed to fit with Kiku's personality._

 _A quick note on everyone else. Regarding the Asians, I haven't included India, simply because I don't really know enough about him to be able to write him. As for the others, I've used Paulo for Macau rather than an Asian name partly because it's the one I know, but mostly because as a rough timeline it was a Portuguese colony at that time. For the others, I'm pretty sure Lien is the accepted name for Vietnam. Thailand's name I got from Levi Jones' videos on youtube (check them out, she's brilliant), which says it's the most commonly used fan-name. If anyone knows differently, please let me know and I'll change it._

 _Now that everyone is all here, it's only a matter of time before they meet up. I'm sad to say, but that does mean things will start to wrap up from now on. That said, I hope you enjoyed this and stick around till the end! Till next time!_

Up next: Meetings and endings, or, there is a limit to how many people you can fit in one place.


	14. We Come Bearing Food And Friends

**A/N First off, huge apologies for the delay! I've started my job again after not working for 3 months over christmas and everything is manic at the moment, so I've been very lazy when it comes to writing. We open a new building in just over a week and things should settle down after that (who am I kidding, it'll take waaaay longer than that!) but I'm looking forward to it. I promise to try not to leave it three weeks between updates again though! If I'm being lazy, please please nag me for it through reviews or PM and I will get myself in gear as soon as possible. You guys are so amazing for reading this and I really shouldn't be such a bad author.**

 **So, as you've all waited quite long enough, I give you the next installment!**

 **Chapter 14: In which food is a wonderful source of reconciliation. Attempted arson, slightly less so.**

 **FYI: I don't know if this particularly merits a warning or not, but this chapter does contain slight romance. Only implied, but you may want to skip the last bit if that's not your cup of tea. For those who love ships as much as I do, though, read on!**

* * *

Chapter 14

With the three of them gone, the conversation turned back to the plan.

"So, what did you have in mind to do next?" Yao asked.

Vlad shrugged expressively. "Up to you," he replied. "Everyone else is down at the docks. We should probably go and meet them, or someone go at least to say we've found you. We really only came here for food, so you were a bonus," he grinned.

"Is the old man here?" a voice asked slyly. Vlad looked over to Leon, who had a suspiciously innocent face, dark eyes wide.

"Uh, who?" Vlad asked, confused.

"He means Arthur," Yao cut in, his mouth twisting a little. He turned to his youngest brother.

"Go, but if he catches you I have no idea what you're doing," he said. His eyes gleamed with faint laughter.

"Got it. Yong-Soo, you're with me. Peter, breathe a word of this and you're dead." The siblings all nodded, turning with wide smiles.

"What are you doing?" Raivis asked cluelessly, staring at them confusedly.

Leon turned and winked at him. "Can't say or you'd tell," he quipped. He walked round to the back of the stall and retrieved a bunch of what looked like sticks, bound in bright paper, slipping them into the wide sleeves of his tunic.

"Oh, okay," the little Latvian replied, somewhat crestfallen. Peter ran over to him, giggling, and whispered something in his ear. Raivis' eyes went wide in astonishment.

"FIRECR-mmph!" he was cut off by the blond boy hurriedly placing a hand over the older teen's mouth.

"Shush! No telling or jerk Arthur will know!" he warned.

Raivis looked confused again. "But mr Vlad just said he's at the harbour," he said, taking Peter's hand away from his mouth. "He can't hear us from here."

Peter shook his head. "We can't be too careful!"

Raivis looked at him sideways, then shook his head. "I really don't understand you," he lamented.

"That's ok!" Peter said brightly.

"Oy, brat, come if you're coming," Leon called.

Peter waved a hand jauntily at Raivis, speeding off to catch up to his adoptive brother. "Wait for me, jerk Leon!" he called.

The teenager reluctantly stopped to let the boy catch up. He ruffled the blond's hair in a gentle headlock, making Peter cry out angrily, Yong-Soo laughing loudly. The group disappeared around the corner, bickering with familial lightness.

They met Kiku, Lovino and Feliciano as they made their way back. The smaller man took one look at his brother and gave him a reproachful look.

"Leon-kun, are you doing what I suspect you are about to?" he asked mildly.

"Depends," his brother replied. "Like what?" he asked cheekily.

Kiku did not look amused. "Like you know what," he said sternly. "You have a lot to be grateful for to Arthur-san, please do not play such childish tricks on him. Or anyone else for that matter."

"Lighten up, bro!" Yong-Soo clapped his brother on the shoulder, making Kiku lose his step. He glared up at the taller nation, annoyed.

"Uh-oh, he's mad!" the Korean crowed. "Leon, run!"

The teen took him at his word, taking off at a dead pace before suddenly slowing. he turned and ran back towards the others, passing them at a run. At his brother's confused look, he yelled out, "forgot something!"

The others could only stare on in confusion. Leon reappeared a minute or two later with a wide, round hat, which he placed on his head with the brim tilted low to hide his face.

"Right. Let's go," he stated. "Remember, you guys are the distraction."

Yong-Soo saluted him mockingly. "Yessir, little bro! Wait, what am I supposed to do?"

Leon looked up from under the hat. "I don't know! Distract them! Talk about the economy, or your music, or games, wait not games, this is a medieval world. Anything. Peter, help him out."

"Roger!" the small boy grabbed Yong-Soo's hand and started tugging him forwards. The two looked almost comical with the huge height difference.

"So, what are they going to do?" A voice asked.

Kiku turned to Feliciano with a faintly exasperated look. "Leon-kun and Arthur-san have a…disagreement," he explained. "They are quite close, actually, but Leon is in a rebellious stage. He has always had a love of firecrackers, and now he has the habit of trying to annoy Arthur-san by setting them off. You have probably seen him do so in meetings. It is most impolite, but the boy will not listen. And Yao only encourages him," he said, frowning.

"Oh. Hey, that sounds like fun!" Feliciano said.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "No it doesn't, idiot," he said. "In case your thick skull doesn't remember, we came here in a ship. A _wooden_ ship."

Feliciano looked puzzled for a moment. "OH! That wouldn't be very good, I suppose," he concluded.

"No shit, dumbass. The whole place could go up in flames if that kid isn't careful."

"There is no need to worry, Lovino-kun," Kiku interjected. Lovino turned to him with an incredulous look.

"How the hell not?" he asked.

Kiku smiled imperceptibly. "Because Yao will have got to them first. He does not like Arthur-san much either, but he has some sense. He would not let the chance of a fire happen here, or anywhere for that matter. There is no danger."

He tilted his head to the side slightly, thinking. "Well, apart from to Leon-kun when Arthur-san catches him," he mused, his voice ever so slightly amused.

Lovino felt his lips twist almost in a smile. "You can be a bastard when you want to, can't you?" he said, almost admiring.

Kiku raised an eyebrow at him, smiling. "I would prefer if Leon-kun did not play pranks," he said. "But, occasionally, it is not entirely a bad thing."

Feliciano looked between his brother and best friend, his expression happily confused.

"Lovi, Kiku, we need to take the food to everyone!" he reminded them.

"Ah, yes. Forgive me, Feli-kun." Kiku motioned for Feliciano to start walking again.

"Yeah, I'm coming, bastard. Go on, run back to the macho potato. For such a potato loving macho bastard the stupid bastard sure loves his sweets, huh?" Lovino said.

Feliciano pouted at him. "That's mean, Lovi. Luddy makes the best cakes!" he trilled.

Lovino did not look convinced. He made a shooing gesture with his hands. Feliciano pouted again, but turned around dutifully and began walking.

They reached the others a few minutes later. On their arrival, they saw that Leon's plan had obviously failed, or been foiled. He was standing a short distance away from the rest of the group, his bored expression showing that he was trying to tune out Arthur's tirade.

"-if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, boy! It is not only stupid, irresponsible, and highly unnecessary, but incredibly dangerous! This is a _harbour_ , in case you didn't realise that. That means _wood_. Do you realise you could have set this whole place on fire!" Arthur's face was red with anger, his voice sharp and cutting.

"Yeah, yeah," Leon muttered. He looked rather disappointed, but resigned.

"Don't you talk back to me like that, young man!" the Englishman warned.

Wisely, Kiku stepped forward to break them up.

"Arthur-san, I believe Leon-kun has learned his lesson. He will not be so irresponsible in future." He glared at his brother, or as much as he ever came to anger.

Leon waved a hand, shrugging. "Yeah, whatever. Sorry, old man," he apologised, sounding anything but contrite.

Arthur looked ready to pop a vein in his forehead. "I've had just about enough of your antics," he fumed.

Kiku placed a hand on the other's arm placatingly. "The others are on their way," he said. "Yao will take the boy to task," he assured.

"Why do you always take _his_ side?" Leon whined.

Kiku shot him a glance, one thin brow arched challengingly. Surprisingly, the teen backed down, muttering under his breath. Yong-Soo laughed again, using his height advantage to ruffle Leon's silky hair. The teen whirled around to the taller and tried to hit him, but the other stepped back hurriedly.

"I swear to god, Yong-Soo, if you don't shut up I'll-"

"What?" the older nation taunted. "Aww, the little colony is all upset."

Leon's eyes went flat with anger. "Too far," he hissed, too quiet for anyone else to hear. He whirled around again and stalked off. Yong-Soo looked around sheepishly.

"Was that too far?" he asked mildly.

Kiku and Arthur exchanged a glance. "I'll talk to him," Arthur sighed, stepping forward.

"Arthur-san, wait." Kiku motioned to where Leon was pacing forward. Arthur followed his gaze to where Leon had stopped suddenly, his body turned to the side almost shyly.

"Ah." He exchanged another glance with Kiku, this time more knowing.

Kiku smiled back. "It may be best to leave them to it," he advised.

Arthur simply nodded, rather glad. "Right. On to other matters, then. I take it the rest of you are around, near presumably?"

Kiku nodded. "Yes. There is a market a few streets away. They should not be long," he asserted.

"May I ask if you have a particular plan?" he asked politely.

Arthur looked back to him. "Not particularly," he said. "Now that you lot are here, that's pretty much everyone. Unless you know of anyone else we're missing. I have a list if you want to see."

Kiku nodded. "That would be helpful, thank you," he agreed.

"Right. It's in my cabin. Come on." He led Kiku back to where the rest of the group was.

"Kiku! Are you all done yelling? I guess the fireworks or whatever they were didn't' work? The ship isn't on fire, so I guess it's all ok!" Feliciano chattered. Kiku merely stared at his ally, waiting for him to finish. Ludwig reached out effortlessly and yanked him back, nodding to Kiku.

"Good to see you," he stated.

Kiku bowed slightly. "It has been a while, Ludwig-san," he replied. "Did you have a pleasant journey here?" he asked politely.

Ludwig's face was stoic as usual. "As can be, I suppose," he answered. "Who else is with you?"

Kiku repeated what he had told Arthur. Ludwig nodded again, satisfied.

Barely a few minutes had passed before Yao, Ivan and the others joined them. The former strode towards Arthur angrily, his expression furious.

"What did you do to Leon?" he accused, eyes flashing.

Arthur sighed, peeved. "Look to your left," he suggested.

Yao did so, finding Yong-Soo looking uncharacteristically apologetic.

"Ai-yah, what did _you_ do?" he asked.

Yong-Soo looked down, abashed. "So I may have, sort of, like, teased him a bit?" he confessed.

Yao tilted his head up to stare at his brother accusingly. "And?" he pressed.

Yong-Soo gulped. "Uh, I kind of went a bit too far," he admitted. "But I didn't mean to!"

Arthur sighed. "Lets just say he alluded to a rather touchy subject," he concluded.

Yao shot a despairing glance to the other. "You never learn," he chided. "I'll go and talk to him."

"Don't," Arthur cautioned. "He won't want to talk to either of us for the moment. Besides, he'll be alright."

"Oh?" Yao looked at him questioningly.

"He's with Emil," Arthur explained.

"Oh _is_ he now?" Yao eyes' flashed challengingly. He strode over to the rest of the group.

"Can you not control your brother?" he accused.

Lukas merely flashed the other a cool glance. "Do I look like I approve of it?" he asked sharply.

"Lighten up, Norge. Ice and the kid are the same age, or they look it at least. Let them cool off some steam together. You worry too much. Think of we did at that age!" Matthias cut in, his tone light.

Both men glared at him. "That is _not_ the point," they shot, in unison.

Matthias held his hands up cajolingly. "Ok, ok," he backed down. "I'll go find them."

He walked off, muttering under his breath. Lukas and Yao watched him go, then turned to each other.

"We need to keep an eye on them," Yao stated.

Lukas raised an eyebrow, appraising. "I think we need to talk," he agreed.

They exchanged sly smirks. Arthur sighed, raising a hand to his brow exasperatedly. " _Thank god I never had this problem with the boys,"_ he muttered.

The two in question were currently as far away from the group as they dared to get. Emil had taken one look at Leon and hurried forward, ignoring Lukas' warning call. Leon had grabbed his hand and taken off at a run, taking them both deep into the market. They had deliberately taken a route away from the market to avoid Yao and the others, not wanting to see anyone else.

Leon didn't stop until they were a good distance away. Pulling Emil into a narrow alley, he finally stopped, his breath coming harsh and fast from the exertion. Emil wasn't faring much better, panting as he fought to reclaim his breath, leaning against the wall and gulping air.

He knew better than to speak, allowing them both to settle down. Eventually, Leon's breaths evened out, or as much as possible. He turned away, his face shadowed by the narrow walls.

"Do you want to tell me?" Emil asked gently. He didn't press, knowing that they both valued silence rather than meaningless chatter. It was part of the reason they got on so well.

Leon was silent for a while. One hand raised to his eyes, and if Emil saw him wipe away a tear, he didn't comment.

"I was arguing with Yong-Soo," he said eventually. Emil didn't reply, letting the other teen continue at his own pace.

"He called me a colony," Leon whispered. "He knows I hate that."

 _Ah._ Emil understood immediately. He understood better than most what it was like to spend the long years of their lives under rule, their existence reduced to that of a vassal.

"I know," he said, simply.

Leon turned to him, sharply, his tanned face red. "No you don't!" he argued. "You're independent. You don't know what it's like, being shuttled back and forth like some mortal kid. Oh, it's Wednesday, guess I'm British. Wait till Saturday and I'll be Chinese! I don't get any say for myself. I just get shoved back and forth like a toy. And then the old man yelled at me _again_. He doesn't care about me. Nor does Yao. They pretend to. But they only care about what I can do for them. I have one of the best economies in the world, you know. I know I'm not nearly as old as you, but why can't they see I can manage perfectly well on my own. Why won't let me be _me_?" his voice trailed off, hitching.

Emil simply stepped forward. He normally hated displays of emotion, but now he drew his thin arms around the other. Leon stiffened for a moment, then leant in, hugging him back fiercely. He buried his head in Emil's shoulder, clutching the fabric of his shirt tightly.

"I _do_ know," Emil said, quietly. "I've been alive for over a thousand years, but I've only been independent since 1917. I may not have been fought over, like you, but I know what it's like. I saw it with my brother. It's horrible, knowing you don't have any say in the land you represent. It makes you question why you even exist, if you're even needed if you have nothing to call your own. I was lucky. Dan is an idiot, but he has always taken care of me, and my sisters. Yao and Arthur both care for you. they just have different ways of showing it. And we all argue with our families sometimes. It's just what we do. But at the end of the day, you don't mind it so much, do you? It's their way of showing they care. And-and so do I." He whispered the last part, blushing furiously.

He felt Leon move against his shoulder. "Why are you so perfect," he mumbled into the fabric.

Emil didn't answer. Leon raised his head, all trace of tears gone. Instead, his face was sly, smirking.

"Say that last part again," he ordered.

Emil pushed him away, lifting his hands to his face. "No," he said, embarrassed.

Leon caught his hands, lifting them away so he could see the other's face. Emil blushed even deeper, trying to turn his face away.

"I~Ice," he sang softly. Emil turned his head away further, craning his neck. He twisted his wrists in the other's grasp, making Leon let go. He raised his hands to his face again, shutting him out.

Leon took the opportunity. His fingers reached out to Emil's sides.

The teen couldn't help but gasp. "S-stop it," he managed to gasp out, his voice hitching.

"Nope." Leon continued his assault, reaching around the other's thin waist. Emil tried to contain his laughter, but failed, dissolving into soft giggles. As payback, he reached his arms to Leon's neck and found the spot below his ears where he knew the other was most sensitive.

Leon's reaction was immediate. He drew back suddenly, his face shocked, then morphed into laughter.

"That was cruel," he laughed.

"You started it," Emil quipped back.

Leon grinned at him. He lowered his hands to the jut of Emil's slender hips, resting loosely around him. He let his head fall forward again until their foreheads were touching.

"Thank you," he breathed.

Emil hesitated for a moment, then reached his arms up to hug him back. They stood like that for a long moment, simply enjoying the feel of the other's body.

"you're welcome," he said quietly.

They stood like that for a minute or two longer, before Leon drew back suddenly. At Emil's querying look, he smiled sheepishly.

"We really ought to get back. Knowing out brothers, they'll have sent out a search party already," he joked.

Emil groaned. "Don't even go there," he moaned.

Laughing, Leon grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the alley. They walked back to the main street, spotting Matthias almost immediately.

The Dane stood with his hands on his hips, looking puzzled. The two teens shot each other a sly glance, both thinking the same thing. As one, they stepped forward, careful to stay to the man's back.

"Were you looking for us, dan?" Emil asked sweetly.

Matthias whirled round, clutching his chest. Seeing the two, he rolled his eyes, feigning anger.

"Jeez, Ice, don't do that to me!" he chastised. His gaze dropped to their still-joined hands, one eyebrow raised. The two let go immediately, taking a step away from each other. Matthias didn't say a word, simply looking between the two knowingly.

"Come on, then, you two," was all he said. "You're lucky your brother loves me," he told Emil. "Yours, not so much," he said to Leon. "Try not to do anything to make them kill me, ok? If they ask, I found you talking. I don't wanna know what you were doing." He winked at them, making Emil blush deeply.

"W-we weren't-" he stammered out.

"Oh, shush, Icey," Matthias said teasingly. "I don't care what you do. Heck, me and Norge were doing far worse at your age. Don't ever tell him I said that, though. He'd strangle me for real." He shuddered slightly at the thought.

"I _don't_ want to hear it," Emil stated firmly. Scarred with the mental image of that, Emil shook his head roughly, walking forward determinedly.

"Hey, Icey, wait up!" Matthias called. Emil ignored him, stopping only for Leon to catch up to him. The two walked forward together, leaving the Dane to pace after them, shaking his head good-naturedly.

 _They look cute together_ , he thought. Striding forward, he clapped a hand on either of their shoulders, making them jump.

"Break it up, kids!" he said jauntily. The two blushed, each turning their heads away hurriedly. Matthias simply laughed.

"It's late," he commented. "What say we all have a nice, happy family dinner? Get to know each other, know what I mean?" he looked between the two, his face crafty.

The teens exchanged a confused look. Seeing Matthias' open expression, however, they smiled slowly.

"That would be lovely," Leon said. "What do you think, Emil?"

The teen smiled back, tentatively. "I would like that too," he said.

"Brilliant! Now let's get back to them all, then," Matthias ordered. He strode forward, whistling jauntily. Emil and Leon exchanged a wry glance.

 _Well, at least one of them is on our side, huh?_

Leon grinned at him, making Emil smile.

Now if only they could get their brothers to back down.

* * *

 **A/N Gaaaaaaaah. HongIce is just too damn cute, dammit! I swear, these two will be the death of me. That and every other ship in this fandom, of which there are too many to count.**

 **I hope I managed to capture their personalities well enough. Leon is a little OOC in that he talks more, but then there isn't really a whole lot to go on canon-wise. Emil's line is taken from his hetaween panel (I think 2013, but I may be wrong). He actually says it to Romano, who is less than amused. But they made wonderful pirates, didn't they? If you haven't read it, please do. It's hilarious. There is also an unaired episode of it that you can find from links on youtube. Just search 'Hetalia hetaween episode' or something like that and one of the videos has a link to the full thing. If I remember rightly, I think it was on Vimeo, if you have that as well. I highly recommend searching it out, anyway.**

 **Anyway, I digress. Slightly. Ah, the good ol' protective older brother trope, huh? Poor boys. Hopefully Den will be able to talk some sense into them. Or at least deter threats of physical violence towards their little bro's boyfriend. Time will tell.**

 **Well, that's about it for this time. See you next time, and thank you very much for reading!**

 **Up next: The dreaded family dinner. Please try to keep diplomatic incidents to a minimum.**


	15. Food Fest! (and sneaking out)

**A/N I can only apologise whole-heartedly for the delay. Life gets in the way of things sometimes, and I really, truly didn't mean to leave it more than a month. So with no further delay, I give you chapter 15. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Chapter 15: In which families come together, food is made and teenagers act like teenagers.**

 **Hint: there is a reference in here, and if you get it, I love you.**

* * *

Chapter 15

Back at the dock, Arthur and Yao were engaged in a heated argument, which had as usual degenerated into their usual habit of slinging insults at each other.

Emil and Leon took one look at each other, rolling their eyes, and separated with a smile.

Leon strode forward to his former guardians.

"For the last time, you're both as bad as each other," he said. "Now, can we go get dinner? I'm starving."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Manners, Leon. And it's rather us that has been waiting, if you don't mind."

The teenager waved a hand at him. "Yeah, yeah. Yell at me later. I want food!"

This time it was Yao who reached over and cuffed the tall boy around the head, making him wince.

"I disagree with Arthur on nearly everything, but in this case he is right. Have more respect for your elders!" he chided.

"Yeah, _little bro_! Respect!" Yong-Soo chimed in. He reached over and grabbed Leon, locking his arms around his head and ruffling his hair.

"Get off me, you oaf!" the younger groaned. "Emil, help!" he pleaded.

Emil simply watched him with a slight smile, shaking his head.

Mei solved the problem by ramming her elbow into her brother's stomach, making him release Leon with a yelp.

"Serves you right," she scolded. Grabbing Leon's arm, she tore him away from Yong-Soo and tugged him across to where Emil was standing.

Turning exaggeratedly, she stuck her tongue out at him, nodding sharply. Yong-Soo rubbed his stomach, pouting. "That _hurt_ , Mei-Mei!" he whined.

"Tough. I'm hungry and you aren't helping. Emil, lets get dinner. _Without_ him."

So saying, she took hold of both boy's hands and flounced off to Yao, who placed his hand on his forehead despairingly. "Ai-yah, where did I go so wrong?" he wondered.

Arthur placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Cheer up, old chap," he said.

Yao lifted his hand to glare at him. They were saved from another impending argument by Matthias exclaiming loudly.

"Ok, guys, break it up. You heard the kids, it's late and we're all starving. To food!"

Peter and Alexandru cheered. Matthias winked at them.

"Oh, man, can we just get going? I'm totally starving, dudes!" Alfred cried. He strode forward, only to be yanked back by his brother.

"What the heck, dudebro? Not cool!" He twisted to try and see Matthew, who was frowning slightly.

"Sorry, Al, I just had a thought," he apologised. "But there's really far too many of us here right now. Might'nt it be better to go to the ship? We have enough room for everyone, and it would be nice to all eat together, don't you think?"

"Da, Matvey is right," Ivan put in. They turned to see the tall Russian smiling widely. "Food always tastes better when you eat with friends, da?"

"Which ship?"

Ivan turned to Yao, confused. "Ours, of course. Who else?"

Yao rolled his eyes in fond exasperation. "They came on a ship too, you know." He turned to the others.

"I will bring food over to your ship. Our cooking is much better than yours, anyway, but you are welcome to make your own. Who has been doing your cooking for you on your ship?" he inquired.

"Me," Feliciano answered. "Well, me, Seb, big brother Toni and big brother Francis. And I made Lovi help out sometimes too."

"Only because none of you bastards know how to cut a tomato properly," he muttered.

Feliciano shot his brother a glance, but continued, "It would be really cool to cook with you, Yao! I haven't made Chinese food much before, but I bet you can show me how to make some really yummy food!"

He beamed widely and clapped his hands together. "Oh, I know!" he exclaimed. "How about we all bring whatever food we have and we can make a pot luck! Just like we too at meetings, right?"

This time it was Ludwig who rolled his eyes. "That was exactly what Yao just suggested," he reprimanded.

"Oh. Well, it's a really good idea, don't you think?" Feliciano pleaded.

"No-one's saying it's a bad idea," Antonio said. "In fact, it's brilliant. We'll go back to our ship and cook for us, and you can cook for you, and then we can just lay everything out in the galley and help ourselves. Any problems with that?" he looked around the group, as if daring anyone to disagree.

"Well, as _mon ami_ suggests, we should get to it, _non_?" Francis smiled. "Feliciano, you will help big brother with the cooking, _oui_?"

Feliciano nodded happily. "Sure!"

"Very well. We will meet in no less than two hours, alright?" Yao confirmed. "Yong-Soo, Mei, Leon, you are with me. The rest of you can decide for yourselves where you go."

"Why does he have to go with you?" Arthur argued.

Yao simply stared at him.

"What?" he blustered. "I'll have you know we have some of the best restaurants in the world! With the finest chefs, too!"

"That I do not deny, but you are not one of them!" Yao countered.

"I think his food tastes fine?" Alfred cut in.

"That's because your taste buds were ruined too young _, mon petit_ ," Francis remarked. "If Angleterre had given you to me, you would have had grown up knowing the joy of _true_ gourmet!"

"Oh, shut it, the lot of you," Arthur spat. He stomped off towards the ship, muttering angrily.

"Should we go after him?" Matthew asked quietly.

"No. He'll just sulk in his cabin. Now, we must get cooking. _Au revoir_!" Francis flashed a smile to the others, then turned swiftly and made his way after Arthur to the ship. Feliciano hung back for a moment, torn, then hurried after him.

One by one, they separated into groups, some choosing to stay on their own ship, others deciding to try something new. The kitchens on both ships were rather small, but they made it work somehow.

* * *

And so, a couple of hours later, the table was positively groaning with food. Being bigger, they had elected to eat in Arthur's ship, seeing as the lack of cargo allowed them to all fit. Yao had sent the others on with the food as and when dishes were ready, leading to a succession of trips between the two. Eventually, however, they declared that there was quite enough for everyone.

Alfred wandered into the galley, his face breaking into a wide smile as he saw the display on offer.

"Man, that looks totally amazing! So, is there like a seating thing, or do we just dig in?" he asked.

Everyone exchanged glances. The seats in meetings were arranged according to their geographical and political alliances, but here, there seemed little point.

"We should not bother with that," Yao suggested. "This is a time for food and coming together. Just take a seat wherever you like."

"Sounds good to me, man." Alfred strode over to where a selection of plates and bowls had been set out, took one and made a beeline for the table, loading the plate with anything that caught his eye.

One by one, the rest joined them. As with the meetings, there was no particular order to the food, with dishes placed wherever there was space, leading to a brilliantly diverse selection.

Soon, the room was filled with chatter and noise as plates and bowls were exchanged and filled up. Yao and Francis, still on their self-appointed kitchen duty, were hurrying back and forth as they brought yet more food out. At one point, Yao stopped to hand a bowl to Ivan, asking him to try something.

The tall man took a bite of the meat, his eyes lighting up. "Vkushno!" he declared, beaming.

Yao nodded, satisfied. "Leon, take the rest of this out to the table," he asked.

Receiving no reply, he looked around. "Where has he gone?" he wondered.

"He went out with his friend," Ivan supplied.

Yao turned to him, his face questioning. "Which?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

Ivan took a step back, flustered. "Um, the Nordic boy, I think," he answered. "The young one, with the white hair."

Yao's eyes went wide, then narrow. "Where did they go?" he asked, his voice pleasant.

"Outside?" Ivan answered again. "Why does it matter?"

"No reason. Now, stir this for a minute, please." Yao handed a spoon to Ivan, then stalked out of the kitchen, his face a mask of calm. Ivan watched him go, confused.

"What did I say?" he wondered to the room.

He heard giggled behind him, and turned to see Mei hiding a laugh with his sleeve.

"What?" he pressed.

"Nothing," she giggled. "Yao is being too protective, that's all."

Ivan still didn't understand. "Of Leon?"

She nodded.

"Why? Love is a beautiful thing, da? If he is happy with the Nordic boy, what is the problem?"

Mei stared at him wonderingly.

"What is wrong? Did I say something strange again?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. It's just, you don't really seem like the type of person to say that," she said.

Ivan's face fell. "Because of my boss, da? He does not like all the types of love in the world," he said sadly.

Mei looked at him questioningly. "But you don't agree with him," she stated.

Ivan shook his head. "There has been too much hate in the world for too long," he affirmed. "I would like to see more people love. Everyone needs to have friends, and not live in fear. But too many of my people do, and there is nothing I can do about it. I am not able to go against the wishes of my boss."

Mei looked at him sadly. "None of us can." She tried to smile. "But this world isn't home, so let's forget about it while we're here, ok?"

Ivan returned her smile, tentatively at first, then brightening. "Da!" he agreed.

"Brilliant! Now, keep stirring the pot, or Yao is going to be really mad with you when he gets back. Probably not as mad as with Leon, though." She grinned at him.

"Oh no! I forgot!" Ivan turned sharply, concentrating on the pot. His face set in determination. After making sure that it was alright, he took a glance around the kitchen.

"What ingredients do we still have?" he wondered.

Mei looked around. "Why? Is there something you would like to make?" she asked.

"Da. Have you ever had piroshki?" he asked, smiling.

Mei shook her head. "I don't think so. What is it?" she asked.

Ivan smiled at her. "I will show you how to make them. Trust me, they are delicious."

She grinned at him. "OK. One second." She ran out into the room to stand in the entrance to the galley.

"Yong-Soo, get back in this kitchen _now_!" she yelled. She strode out, returning a moment later with the Korean squirming in her grasp.

"OK, OK, I'm here, I'm _here_!" he cried. "Mei, let go of me!"

She released her grip on his arm, shoving him in front of the counter. "Chop the vegetables," she ordered. "Ivan's going to teach me how to make his food."

Yong-Soo pouted at her. "Why don't I get to learn?" he whined. "Anyway, whatever it is, I'm sure it originated in _me_ first!"

Ivan turned to smile at him. "That, little boy, is not possible. Piroshki is _mine_."

Gulping at the purple aura surrounding the Russian, Yong-Soo backed down, turning back to the counter.

"Where's Yao, anyway?" he asked after a moment.

"Interfering," Mei answered, giggling.

Yong-Soo looked confused for a moment, then grinned as he understood.

" _Poor_ little Leon," he mocked.

Mei turned to smirk at him, and the two dissolved into the teasing, schadenfreude laughter of siblings.

Ivan regarded the two for a moment, his face confused. He didn't quite understand why they were so gleeful. He was of course fiercely protective of both his sisters, even if he wasn't as close to them as he would like (and certainly not as close as Natalia would like, he thought with a shudder) but he would certainly be nothing but happy for them if they were to find someone special to them.

He shook his head, confused. Breaking the laughter between the siblings, he asked "Mei? Would you like to watch me make the piroshki now?"

She turned to him eagerly. "Yes please!"

Ivan smiled at her. "Right. The first step is to gather the ingredients. This is what we will need…"

* * *

The boy in question, meanwhile, was blissfully unaware of his sibling's delight at his impending doom. As soon as he could get away from it, Leon had escaped from Yao and his sibling's watchful gaze, pleading hunger. He had managed to get halfway across the deck to where Emil was standing with his brother, and would likely have made it, if it weren't for the firm hand clapping down on his shoulder.

"Not so fast, Leon. We need to talk," Arthur stated.

Leon held back a groan. Turning politely, he faced Arthur, waiting for the lecture he was no doubt in for.

Seeing the teen's face, Arthur backtracked, "Don't be so stiff, boy. I just thought it was high time we caught up for a chat. You _do_ make a habit of avoiding me at meetings, after all."

Leon resisted the urge to tell him that it was nothing personal (much), he tended to avoid _all_ the adults. Not least because every meeting they ever had degenerated into useless arguments and insult contests.

Instead, he tried to smile blandly. "I'm good, it's nice to see you, you're still obviously as bad at magic as you ever were, please don't curse me again, these eyebrows are bad enough as it is. Now, can I please go and get some food? I'm really hungry and Yao has been working us all like slaves."

Arthur looked shocked at the teen's words, his face morphing into a frown. "Have you been talking to Alfred?" he demanded. "That's exactly the type of language I'd expect from him, but I had hoped I'd raised you better than him."

Leon rolled his eyes. "Sorry. I just really am hungry. And no, of course not. Why would I talk to Alfred? He's not the one I share my birthday with."

Arthur looked vaguely confused. "Beg pardon? Who do you share a birthday with? I think I would know if they did," he queried.

This time Leon made sure his eye roll was visible. "You're impossible, you know that?" he shook his head, brushing past Arthur and making his way over to the table.

He was joined there by the nation in question. Leon was piling food onto his plate almost angrily, his face set in a glare.

"I really don't mind, you know," Matthew remarked quietly.

Leon turned to him, shocked. "Well, you should be!" he shot. "Yao remembers, and he has plenty of reason to hate the day. Heck, he even remembers _Kiku's_ birthday, and they still don't get on. But that guy raised you! He should remember everything about us. All of us."

Matthew's eyebrows shot up, surprised. "Well, it isn't that important," he replied. "Sure, it would be nice if more people saw me for who I am, but I can't really blame them. Al just has too much…presence. I've managed to get Carlos to stop confusing me for him and beating me up, so that's good enough for me at the moment. And Francis always remembers me, too. And you, of course. Ivan recognises me sometimes, too. And Gilbert."

Leon shot him a cool glance, choosing to ignore how the other's face flushed for a moment at the mention of the former nation's name. After a moment, he sighed.

"Fine. If you're really OK with it then I guess I should be too. Now, I really, really need to eat."

He glanced over to Emil, his eyes flashing. "Can I ask you for a huge favour?" he asked casually.

Matthew followed his gaze to the pale-haired teen, smiling when he saw the look of boredom on Emil's face.

"Sure. I'll talk to them. You go and escape with him," he laughed.

Leon turned to him with a grateful smile. "I'll owe you one for this," he promised. "Tell him I'll be outside?"

Matthew nodded. "I will. I've actually been wanting to try this for a while," he said. Leon looked at him curiously, wondering what the Canadian was planning. He watched as Matthew squared his shoulders, standing taller. He slicked his hair back a little, making it lie flatter, then smiled widely.

Leon caught on to what he was doing, and chuckled. "Good luck," he said.

Matthew winked at him. "Get out," he said, not unkindly.

"And miss this? Not a chance," Leon responded.

Matthew rolled his eyes, but kept smiling. His whole attitude changed in an instant, from his usual shy, quiet demeanour to a brash, cocky, confident aura. He took a plate and piled it high with food, then strode across the floor to where Arthur stood.

"Hey, dude, you totally gotta try this stuff, man! I don't know what it is, but it is totally freaking delicious!" he cried, his voice a perfect imitation of his brothers. Leon couldn't hold back a low giggle, watching as the others turned to him with their usual reactions. Alfred himself was, luckily, nowhere to be seen for the moment, likely gone to use the woefully historical facilities the ship had to offer in the way of a restroom.

Across the room, his eyes met Emil's, and his smile widened. Emil took one glance at the fake Alfred, then back at Leon, his eyes narrowing as he understood. Beside him, Lukas had turned to look at the supposed American with his usual disdainful glance. Matthias was obviously utterly fooled, laughing along with something Matthew had said.

Leon held out a hand, gesturing to the door with a sharp nod of his head. Taking advantage of the distraction, Emil slipped away from the watchful gaze of his brother and darted across the room to Leon.

"Let's get out of here, quick. Before anyone else realises," he said.

* * *

They made their way out of the ship, taking the path back to town before stopping about halfway up the hill. Placing the bowls down next to the, they threw themselves onto the grass and lay there staring up at the stars.

Leon was still smiling. "Did anyone else realise?" he asked, turning his head to the side.

"Lukas probably did, but he won't say anything. He'll tease the stupid Dane about it later, since he was totally fooled," Emil replied, the smirk evident in his voice. "But I don't think the others did. How long has he been able to do that, anyway?"

Leon laughed again. "Since forever. They're both older than me, so I don't know when he learnt too, but I've always known he could. And I've always been able to see Matthew."

Emil glanced at him coolly. "Well, you have the same birthday, right? So no wonder you'd be closer."

Leon nodded. "Yeah. We'll probably start planning our party soon," he mused.

"Who's turn is it this year?" Emil asked.

"Yao. So he's gonna go way all out, probably. It's twenty one years since I went back to him, so he wants to throw me a human celebration party. He's being really annoying about it, actually."

"Aww, because you're _all grown up_ ," Emil teased.

Leon mock-glared at him. "Then I guess that makes you ancient, then!" he retorted.

"No more than you," he countered.

They grinned at each other, teasingly, before Emil broke his gaze, once again very glad for the night obscuring the flush on his face.

Glancing left and right, he grabbed hold of an opening. "We should really eat before the food gets cold," he stammered.

Leon hovered above him for a moment longer, then sat back, his expression morphing into amusement.

"Here." He held out a pair of chopsticks to Emil, who took the tentatively.

"You know I'm no good at using these," he sighed.

"I'll teach you," Leon replied.

Emil rolled his eyes. "You've tried. Many times. It's too confusing. What?" he demanded, seeing the teen laugh.

"Nothing," Leon answered. "It's just really not that difficult."

"Maybe to _you_ ," Emil retorted. To spite him, he held the chopsticks the way Leon had shown him and picked up the bowl. He steadfastly refused to meet the other's eyes as he manoeuvred the thin sticks to pick up a piece of meat. Chewing stubbornly, he kept his head turned away, face flushing as he felt Leon's eyes on him.

"Well, there goes my plan," he heard the other breathe.

Emil didn't turn his head, choosing to finish the mouthful before slowly turning back and raising a pale eyebrow.

"Oh?" he challenged. "I'm sorry to disappoint. Guess your lessons worked after all."

Leon grinned lazily at him. "Guess I'll find something else to teach you then," he smirked.

Emil dropped the chopsticks. Leon could only laugh, taking his own bowl and beginning to eat.

"I'm joking," he offered quietly.

Emil glanced at him sidelong. "Shame," he said. "I would have taken you up on it, too."

They shared a shy smile, both of them very glad their blushes were hidden in the dark. Settling back, they finished the rest of the food in companionable quiet, words unneeded with the growing feeling between them.

Once they finished, they both lay back, content to simply enjoy the peace of the night and the sight of the stars high above them, something Leon got to see all too rarely.

"You know, if you want to see the stars more, you could always come and stay with me," Emil broke the silence quietly. "I could show you the northern lights."

Leon turned to stare at him. "I would love that. And then I'll take you to mine and show you the greatest city in the world."

Emil smiled at him. "We _all_ think we have the greatest city in the world," he teased.

"Well, come and see and you'll find out," Leon countered.

"Deal."

They grinned at each other, returning to stare at the sky. Distantly, the sounds of revelry carried on the still night air from the ship. Evidently alcohol had been produced from somewhere. The faint sound of music drifted towards them as well, high and sweet. Neither of them knew who could be playing so well, but it sounded beautiful, and somehow sad.

With the warmth of the day still lingering, they let the music lull them into a doze, drifting off in the soft grass. Without really meaning to, the two teens turned to each other, their hands resting a hair's width apart.

On the edge of sleep, Leon opened his eyes slightly, staring at the pale-haired boy.

"We are gonna get in so much trouble for this," he whispered, smiling.

"Mh-hmm. But somehow I really don't care," Emil replied, his voice soft.

"Me neither."

Emil opened his eyes to look at Leon, not turning away even as he felt his face grow hot.

"Lets just stay here for now, please?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Fine by me," Leon agreed.

They grinned at each other, their faces flush with illicit thrill. For that moment, they could pretend that there was no such thing as nations, or duty. Tomorrow they would surely be in for a world of trouble, but for now, all thought of repercussions seemed blissfully far away.

* * *

 **A/N So, uh, there we go. Y'know, I really did not intend this to be HongIce when I started it, but hey. They're just too cute! I realise Leon may be a little OOC, but there's not all that much to go on canonically, other than Arthur and Yao quarreling over who 'ruined' him. I hope I've done his character justice.**

 **Anyway, apologies time. As if it's any excuse, work has been just as busy as I thought it would be, so even though I have plenty of time to write, I don't often have all that much inspiration. Hence the month-plus delay and this chapter written in the space of a few hours. Go figure. Thankfully, all my collegues are really nice, so I'm enjoying it.**

 **I really ought not to promise this again, but I will *try* to update more, even if it's just a one-shot or something. It's a shame that FFN doesn't allow authors notes the way that other websites do, since it makes it hard to explain why I've been so lazy with chapters. Suffice to say I had a ton of things that just build up to a mini mental breakdown. Luckily, I know exactly what's causing the stress, so I just need to begin to sort things out and then I can begin to move forward. It means some tough decisions, but I'm sort of looking forward to it, if that makes any sense. In any case, as with many of the people on this website, writing really helps, so please don't ever hesitate to PM me if you need someone to talk to. I can't always promise regular updates or postings, but that I can promise I will respond to.**

 **On a lighter note, I have a good chunk of holiday coming up next week, and I have EmiKougamine home from uni for the summer to hound me for updates and provide her exemplary (read: eagle-eyed and unflinchingly honest) beta service, so, with no promises, I could have the next chapter up soon. On a sadder note, it will likely be the finale. But I do have the general idea planned out, so it will be properly wrapped up and hopefully satisfying.**

 **Once again, apologies for the delay in this. I've written far too much already for an author's note, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the finale.**

 **Up next: All things must come to an end, and its time to go home.**


	16. Sunrise Land!

**A/N It's not been month! Woohoo! That's what comes of having a week off. Hours to spend writing! It won't last, me and my sister have just got a PS4 and it's going to be veeeeeery time-wasting. I'm really looking forward to playing Kingdom Hearts since I've never played it before.**

 **Anyway, rambling over. I am both proud and sad to announce that, as planned, this is the second-to-last chapter. However, it may not be the end, as I will explain then. I hope you have enjoyed reading this so far, and stick around the end!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: In which things turn out far better than expected.**

Chapter 16

Their escape had not gone unnoticed. Though the clamour of the room and Matthew's ruse had caught the others' attention, neither Lukas or Yao were fully fooled. Seeing the Asian exit the kitchen with a determined look, Lukas had taken a glance across the room to where Leon was standing, and caught on immediately.

Yao had caught his eye, and the two shared a glance. Lukas shook his head slightly in answer to the unspoken question. Yao had returned it with a look of surprise and indignation.

Allowing Matthew's flawless acting to keep the room's attention focussed, he slipped from his place at Matthias' side and made his way over to Yao.

He was accosted almost immediately.

"Are you coming?" Yao demanded.

Lukas shook his head, holding up a pale hand to stop the other's outburst.

"Leave them for a while."

Seeing Yao's face dangerously red, he amended, "you saw them both, they've only gone out to eat away from all this." He waved a hand to the room, where the noise was already getting out of hand. "Give them one hour. After that, we intervene."

Yao didn't look convinced. "But they are alone!" he protested. "What if something happens to them?"

Lukas returned the glare coolly. "I'm not stupid, and neither are they. They can protect themselves. Emil has a dagger, I made sure he carries one. And I don't believe you would have relinquished Leon to Arthur if he didn't know how to handle himself. He certainly seems perfectly capable of causing a hell of a lot of mischief." He smirked slightly, thinking of Arthur's many tirades on the subject.

"Well, yes, of course. I taught all of them. Kiku didn't like it, but even he learnt. The ungrateful brat turned it into his own style, of course, but I suppose it works."

Lukas resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Well, fine. The point stands. If they aren't back in an hour, we go break them up. But until then, I suppose we could let them enjoy some peace. Would you even want them here now, anyway?"

They both looked over to the other side of the room, where Matthias and Gilbert were chugging from large mugs of ale, obviously engaged in one of their frequent drinking contests.

Yao wrinkled his nose in distaste at the scene. "Perhaps you are right," he conceded.

The hour came and went. With the noise level only growing as more alcohol was produced, Lukas and Yao took one look at each other and decided to set off in search of their brothers, if only to get away from the noise themselves.

"Which way did they go?" Yao asked, looking around at the docks.

Lukas raised any eyebrow. "Unless they intended to go for an after-dinner swim, I'm going to assume they went left," he commented drily.

Yao shook his head angrily. "Do you want to find them or not?" he shot. He stalked up the hill, his steps determined. Lukas followed after him, slightly exasperated.

It didn't take long to find the two. They came across the boys a little way up the hill, illuminated by the light of the moon shining down.

They lay beside each other, their hands lying a hair's breadth away from touching. Their faces were smooth and calm in sleep, making them look like the teens they appeared to be.

Whatever reprimand Yao was going to give died in his throat. He and Lukas simply stared down at them, surprised.

"That is…not quite what I was expecting," Yao murmured, eventually.

Lukas was gazing down at his brother with a soft smile. "Not quite," he agreed, holding back a chuckle.

A slight breeze ruffled the boy's hair, making Emil shiver slightly in his sleep. He shifted closer to Leon, unconsciously seeking warmth.

"Shall we wake them?" Yao asked, reaching towards Leon.

Lukas turned to look back at the ship, where the sounds of revelry could still be heard. Distantly, they heard a crash, followed by loud, raucous laughter.

"I think not. Wait here for a minute."

Lukas strode back down the hill, his figure a dark silhouette in the night. Yao raised an eyebrow questioningly, but sat down in the grass all the same.

As if sensing his guardian's presence, Leon's hand stretched out, taking hold of Yao's tunic and gripping it lightly.

The gesture brought a sharp gasp from the man. _I thought he had forgotten that_.

Yao allowed his mind to turn over to memories, thinking back to the days when Leon would do just this as a child.

It had been many, many years since he was allowed to do so. Had he turned to Arthur for comfort as well, he wondered? With how many colonies the man had taken care of, had he spared time to do this with each one, smoothing hair from sleeping faces and chasing nightmares away with whispered songs?

Yao shook his head, forcing the thought from his mind. It didn't matter, anyway. That had been centuries ago, and one thing they all knew was that it did no good to dwell on the past. The child nation he had found and taken care of the same way he had done with so many others was now growing up and finding his own way in the world.

Yao's thoughts turned sour. Soon, no doubt, Leon would rise up against him, as they all did, rebelling against his rule and demanding his independence. He had the strength for it, Yao knew. His economy was strong, much more than his own, and his people certainly had the strength of will to take care of his country.

Perhaps it was time to consider it, at least.

As if in response, Leon's hand tightened on his tunic. Yao moved his hand to stroke the boy's dark locks, tenderly.

Perhaps not _just_ yet, then.

He looked up to see Lukas making his way up the hill again, his arms laden with something. As he drew close enough to make out in the faint light, Yao saw that it was a bundle of blankets.

"Are we to sleep under the stars, too, then?" he asked softly.

Lukas smiled softly. "Would you rather return to that?" he replied.

Yao looked down at the ship, seeing the tiny spots of light spilling out across the sea.

"No," he said. He looked down at the boys again, watching them sleep.

"We should wake them. It can't be comfortable lying on the grass like this," he suggested.

Lukas nodded. Bending down, he shook Emil's shoulder gently.

"Wake up, lillebrør."

Emil grumbled, shifting in his sleep. His eyelids flickered before opening slowly. As soon as he saw his brother bending over him, he shot up, his face horrified.

Lukas only just managed to stand up to avoid colliding with the younger.

"I'm sorry! I-it's not-we didn't-we just-" he stammered.

Lukas held his gaze impassively for a moment, his face blank. Emil's voice died off, his expression morphing through fear to something approaching defiance. He looked at the ground, unable to meet his brother's eyes.

Lukas held the silence for a moment longer, then, surprisingly, smirked at him.

With no expected reprimand, Emil looked back up, his face confused.

"Y-you aren't mad?" he asked, unsure.

Lukas raised an eyebrow, still smirking. "Would you like me to be? Is there a reason I should be?"

Emil shook his head furiously. "NO!" he burst out. "We just- didn't want to stay on the ship. So Leon got us food and we came up here. Then we lay down and…I guess we fell asleep," he trailed off, his face flushing as he looked down at Leon, still apparently asleep.

"So I gathered," Lukas said. Emil frowned at him, still unsure.

"Then why bother coming up here then?" he demanded. "You're not our babysitters, if you knew where we were why couldn't you just leave us alone?"

His brother returned his glare calmly. "I'm not your babysitter, but I _am_ your brother," he stated. "Of course I'm going to follow you if you take off somewhere with someone. Especially if that someone is your boyfriend."

Had it been light enough to see, Emil's face would have likely resembled the firecrackers Leon loved so much. His mouth gaped open, staring between Lukas and Yao with a horrified expression.

"He's not-we're not- it's-" he spluttered.

Lukas and Yao turned to each other with a smirk. "Oh really?" he asked.

"So, does that mean you're, like, OK with it?" a voice cut in.

Emil looked down to see Leon propping himself up on his arm, a lazy grin on his face.

"Teach, did you come all the way up here to third wheel us? Cuz that's not cool. I don't barge in on you and Mr Sunflower, y'know."

Yao was very glad for the darkness to obscure his own flush. Temporarily taken aback, he settled on his usual reprimand.

"You need to learn more respect!"

Leon simply grinned, his point proven.

Lukas, meanwhile, had decided to stop teasing his brother, for once. Placing his hands on Emil's shoulders, he stated

"You're old enough to decide what you want to do, and with whom. Do you like him?"

Emil knew the meaning behind Lukas' words, and tried his best to avoid his brother's gaze. His eyes landed on Leon instead, who nodded imperceptibly, his expression serous.

His face flushed again. A glance at Yao showed that the man was evidently waiting for a reply.

He steeled himself, raising his head to stare at Lukas defiantly.

"Yes."

Lukas simply nodded. "Good."

He spread the blanket down over the grass, smoothing it out. taking Emil's arm, he drew him down to sit next to Leon again. The teen complied, utterly confused.

"Y-you aren't mad?" he asked, still not understanding.

Lukas opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Would you like me to be?" he repeated.

Emil frowned. "y-you're just…calmer than I thought you would be, that's all," he muttered.

Lukas sat up, making Emil turn to him.

"We can't have relationships with our people," he started. "They will all die, sooner or later. Neither can we have relationships with other humans. People will start to notice soon enough when we don't age, do not get sick, heal quickly, and everything else that comes with our duties. Some of us have tried it, and it never ends well. So, naturally we turn to each other for love."

He looked up at Yao, seeing the man narrowing his eyes intently. "We've all had many turns in the past. Most of it is political, but a relationship based on politics is rarely loving, at least at first. When the alliance breaks down, so does the marriage, and like with any divorce, things get ugly. You both know that."

Emil shuddered, remembering days spent in a cold castle and voices raised in anger and pain, Lukas holding him and trying to sing him to sleep with the sounds of battle carrying on around him.

Leon remembered angry words and accusations, and the blank stare of a drug-hazed mind as he was dragged away from everything he'd ever known.

They glanced at each other, taking comfort in each other's eyes.

Seeing their frightened faces, Lukas continued.

"But you don't have that. Your countries aren't close, politically or geographically. You've made a friendship work when you have no reason to, nothing to gain from it. To us, that's rare." He cut off suddenly, looking to Yao as if daring him to pick up the thread.

Yao returned the stare for a long moment. He raised a hand to his head, then sighed, resignedly.

"What he means is that you two have something special. A relationship based on affection and friendship rather than mutual agreement and benefit. If you are both serious, neither of us would take that away from you."

He looked to Leon, his face turning soft.

"You deserve to be happy," he whispered.

Leon held his gaze, his eyes widening in surprise. He shot a glance to Lukas, looking for confirmation. The Norwegian's cool gaze told him all he needed to know.

He reached out towards Emil, unconsciously, and their hands gripped each other's tightly.

"Thank you." He didn't know what else to say.

"Well, if that's settled, we should all get some sleep. Do you want to stay out here?" Lukas asked.

Yao thought for a moment. "We may as well. It is too loud to go back to either ship." He looked towards the horizon, where there was already the faintest glimmer of light.

"Dawn is not far away. We can watch the sunrise," he noted.

Lukas nodded. "We can all sleep during the day. I seriously doubt anyone will be up much before noon anyway."

"What about the kids?" Leon asked. "I don't like them much, but Peter's cooking is as bad as the old man's. I don't know about the others though."

Lukas considered it. "They have their own cabin. I don't suppose they'll be up to any trouble, but it wouldn't hurt to check on them. Emil, go and get Peter and see if the others want to come up here too."

"Do I have to?" he moaned.

Lukas simply gave him a look. Grumbling, Emil complied, sending a pleading look to Leon as he did so. Glancing to Yao for permission, who nodded, he took the teen's offered hand, and the two set off down the path.

Lukas and Yao sat together on the grass, both absorbed in their own thoughts. After a moment, Yao turned to him, hand outstretched.

"I suppose we will be seeing more of each other after this," he noted.

Lukas nodded slowly.

"Well then. Do you have any embarrassing stories to tell?" Yao asked.

Lukas smirked. "Many. What kind of thing would you like to know?" he replied.

The two adults grinned at each other. Perhaps this wouldn't be such a bad development after all…

The two in question were not entirely unaware of what their guardians' were discussing.

"You know they'll be swapping stories about us now," Emil grumbled.

Leon didn't seem bothered. "Yeah, and?"

Emil shot him a glare. "I get enough of it from him and the idiot Dane!" he protested. "I don't need it from anyone else!"

Leon smiled at him, teasingly. "Well, tough. Isn't it a good thing?" he asked. "It means they accept us! That's great!"

Emil wasn't entirely convinced, but couldn't keep a grin from spreading across his face at the thought.

"What about everyone else, though?" he wondered, his voice small.

Leon raised an eyebrow. "What about them? None of their business." Seeing the others face, he amended, "Eyebrows will have to know, but no-one else does."

Emil nodded, satisfied. "Ok."

They went back to the ship hand in hand, staring at the gradually lightening sky.

Once inside, they made their way across the crowded deck to the children's cabin. Opening the door, they found the boy's curled up together in a heap, their limbs entangled messily.

Sharing a glance, the two teens grinned evilly at each other.

"OY!" Leon cried.

The three boys shot up, their faces dull with sleep.

"Wassamatter!" Peter yelped, slightly more awake than the others. His sleepy eyes landed on Leon, and his face cleared, turning angry.

"Hey! That's mean, jerk Leon!" he cried. "What was that for?"

Leon shrugged. "No reason."

Alexandru sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "It's early," he mumbled. "Wanna go back to sleep."

"Oh, so you don't want to see the sunrise, then?" Leon joked.

The boy peered at him sleepily. "I've _seen_ a sunrise," he stated. "I'm sleepy. Go away, please. Big brother will come and wake me up if I sleep too long. You're not him."

"All sunrises are _not_ the same." Hans looked far more awake than the other two, smoothing his hair with both hands and running his fingers through it to loosen the tangles.

"I would like to see the sunrise, please. Each one is different every day, and as this is another world, it must surely be even more different. It would be a disgrace to art if I did not attempt to capture it."

Leon raised an eyebrow at the boy's formal way of speaking, but waved his hand obligingly.

"Go ahead. We'll be outside when you're ready. You've got a few minutes anyway."

"Wait!" Peter called. "If Hans is coming I am too! Come on, Alex, you too!" he cried.

The Moldovan muttered something, trying to draw the blankets back around him, but couldn't hold out against the older boy's strength.

"Not fair," he whined. "Just cuz' you're concrete you're stronger than me. Go'way."

Peter didn't let up, tugging the blankets away until the smaller boy gave up, sitting up and rubbing his eyes again.

"Ok, ok, I'm up!" He frowned at Peter. "I'm gonna get big brother to put a spell on you," he told him.

"Curses don't work on me!" Peter responded cheerfully. "I'm _much_ better at them than jerk Arthur, so I know all the counters to anything _you_ could do!"

Alexandru's response was to stick his tongue out at him.

"If you two are going to keep quarrelling, I will leave without you!" Hans threatened.

"Sorry, sorry!"

They scrambled for coats and blankets, wrapping themselves up. Leon knelt down to tie Alexandru's shoelaces for him, the little boy grinning at him in thanks.

"Right, are you _quite_ done?" Emil asked, standing by the doorway with an annoyed expression.

"Yes, _quite_ , thank you!" Peter replied, his tone mocking.

Emil glared at his cousin. "Get a move on then," he ordered.

The two shepherded the boys out of the door, leading them out of the cabin and across the deck.

"Watch your step," Leon cautioned as they made their way down the gangplank. The boys nodded, slowing down before their feet touched the stone of the docks. Catching a glimpse of the slowly rising sun between the buildings, they cried out joyfully.

"Last one there's the loser!" Peter yelled. Taking off at a dead run, he pelted up the hill towards Lukas and Yao. Alexandru ran after him, trying to keep up. Hans followed far more sedately, carrying his sketchbook and pencils carefully.

It didn't take them long to reach the adults, who were talking quietly.

"Uncle Lukas! Look, we can see the sunrise!" Peter told him.

Lukas regarded his nephew coolly. "Yes, that's why I told Emil to bring you here," he replied. Now sit down and watch it calmly."

Peter did as he was told, throwing himself down on the blanket and staring at the sky with a captivated expression. Alexandru wasn't far behind, taking a seat next to Yao shyly and bringing the sleeves of his too-long coat to his mouth.

Yao smiled down at him, absently lifting the child to sit on his lap and wrapping a blanket around him. Alexandru grinned happily and snuggled into him, his eyes widening as he watched the colours streaking across the sky.

Hans had settled down next to Lukas, arranging his pencils next to him neatly. Balancing his sketchbook across his knees, he picked a colour, holding the pencil up to the sky to test it. Satisfied, he brought it down to the paper and began sketching, soon losing himself in the creation of his art.

A sunrise was beautiful in any world, but this was truly spectacular. Without the light pollution and noise of the world at home, there was nothing to distract them from the beauty of the natural wonder above them.

As they watched, the deep blue of the night began to fade, lightening swiftly into a pale baby blue shot through with the white haze of summer heat. The stars faded out of view too quickly to notice, only the evening star still visible as a shining point glittering high above them. The moon, shining so brightly before, faded too, turning almost transparent as the light from the sun grew ever stronger.

With the new day dawning, sounds began to grow in strength. The dawn chorus burst into life, the high trills of birdsong coming from distant trees. Hans' pencil sped furiously across the paper, racing to complete the scene before it disappeared.

Emil and Leon caught each other's eyes, their faces spreading into wide grins. They couldn't quite believe how well their brothers had taken the news, but it was very welcome indeed.

Sitting side-by-side, their hands found each other, fingers twining together loosely. The group sat there in companionable silence, enjoying a few moments of peace before the day began and the town would begin to grow loud with sounds of life and trade.

Soon it would be time to go home. For now, they could revel in each other's company, and wait to see where the day would take them. Whatever came next could wait. All that mattered was that they could face it together.

* * *

 **A/N So. Yay for HongIce! I know a lot of the fandom has Lukas and Yao a bit more opposed to them being together, but I personally think that they would want their little brothers to be happy, and since we as fans seem to ship Emil and Leon as _people_ , not countries, I've decided to go with it like this. Let me know if it works or not, but I like it.**

 **It got a bit cliche there, didn't it? I suck at endings. I toyed with having this as the final chapter, but my sister said it would be neater to wrap it all up, so thank her for that. I have it partly written anyway, so I'll try and have it up by the end of the week.**

 **Well, I don't have any more rambling this time around, so thank you very much for reading and I hope you like the next and final chapter!**

 **Up next: All good things must come to an end, even bad spells. It's time to go home.**


	17. Rise and Shine, Breakfast Time!

**A/N It's not a month this time! Yay! In all seriousness, I can only blame procrastination and a little bit of writer's block. This chapter took ages to write, and like a lot of things, I had written over 3000 words and realised I was nowhere near even close to the end. So, like a lot of things, this will be extended by another chapter.**

 **I want to say the next really will be the last, but knowing me I should really learn not to make promises I can't keep. Bad author.**

 **So with no further ado, I present chapter 17: In which children will always be children, and should not be encouraged.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 17

With the sun fully risen, the day began in earnest. The air was still cool, but held a thread of heat that spoke of the coming summer. Peter and Alexandru had lain back on the grass and were staring at the sky, squinting upwards. Emil murmured a caution to them not to stare at the sun, which they appeared to ignore, but a glance over to them showed that they were at least shading their faces.

Hans was putting the finishing touches to his sketch, his face screwed up in concentration and his eyes barely moving from the paper except to take another pencil. A few minutes later, he set it back down with a small, satisfied smile, then stood up.

"I'm going to show this to brother," he announced quietly. "Also, I believe it is time for breakfast."

Lukas raised an eyebrow, smiling at the child's precocious attitude. "I suppose it is, after all. Well, lets go back then," he said.

"Urgh, no," Emil groaned. "Everyone will be hungover, and I'm not cooking for them."

Lukas smirked at him. "As opposed to every day, when you do cook, lillebrør?" he teased.

Emil didn't respond, but lifted a hand languidly and made a fist at him, turning his thumb to point down.

"I _do_ cook for myself, _thank you,_ **størbror** ," he objected. "I live on my own. I eat. Funnily enough, that means I make it for myself."

His face twisted in his own smirk. "Besides, you're hardly a better cook. You slather everything in butter. I'd hate to think what your cholesterol is."

Lukas glared at him, rolling his eyes in mock anger. "You need to learn some respect for your elders, lillebrør," he chided.

"Be worthy of it, then," the teen retorted.

Lukas raised his hand as if to cuff his brother, then lowered it slowly. Emil looked up, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Don't you dare," he warned.

Lukas simply smiled enigmatically and advanced on him. His hands came down on the teen, cool fingers descending on his neck and stomach. Emil yelped at the invasion, clamping his mouth shut in an attempt not to laugh. It didn't work, however, and he couldn't stop himself from releasing a high-pitched squeal, dissolving into giggles.

"Stop it, you idiot, stop! You're terr-ible," he panted. He reached a hand out to Leon in supplication.

"Help me, Leon! Don't just stand there! He's gonna kill me!"

Leon tried to look sympathetic, but another yelp from Emil broke his composure and he grinned.

"No, I'm good here," he said, laughing.

Emil glared at him, his face flushed with laughter.

Yao regarded them with a slight frown. "You are so childish," he complained. "I thought you said you wanted to get food?"

Emil turned his gaze to him. "I _did_ ," he replied. "Seriously, Lukas, _let. me. go._ "

To his surprise, his brother did so, releasing him and standing gracefully, then smoothed his clothes down as if nothing had happened. Emil got up after him, muttering under his breath and glaring.

"Don't even think about it, you brat," he said to Peter, who had a sly grin on his face. At his words, the boy morphed his expression into a picture of innocence.

"I wouldn't!" he vowed. He smiled widely at his cousin. "But it is fun, though. Papa does it all the time."

Emil didn't look the slightest convinced. "You are a child. I am not," he retorted.

Peter stuck his tongue out at the teen. "Well, you're no fun then," he shot back. "You're boring. All you two do is play games and text each other. Me and Wendy and Alex and Hans and Seb have _way_ more fun than you, and we aren't even nations!"

"I am!" Alexandru piped up indignantly. "But my boss does most of it for me. I don't like going to the meetings, it's all boring. Everyone just yells at each other and no-one ever does anything. We should all just get sweets instead!"

"Paperwork is important, you know," Hans said solemnly. "Sometimes I look over brother Roderich's for him."

"You mean you draw all over it to annoy him," Peter corrected.

Hans smiled mischievously, saying nothing.

"Kids, all of you shut up. That includes you," Yao cut in, shutting Emil's protest off. "Did you or did you not want breakfast?"

At that, the boys perked up. Peter and Alexandru turned to the path, sly grins on their faces.

"Race you?" Peter grinned.

"I'll win!"

"Wait!"

That from Hans, who crouched down to gather up his supplies. "OK, I'm ready."

They looked up to the teens eagerly. Leon rolled his eyes, but moved to stand before them.

"All set?"

All three boys nodded eagerly at him.

"Alright. Just be careful and don't trip. Ready?"

Frantic nods again.

"OK. Three, two, Peter if you move a foot before I say so you'll forfeit immediately, got that? OK, GO!"

The boys took off, Hans' braids flying out behind him as he ran. They seemed to be relatively even, racing down the hill with cries of joy, caught up in the simple glee as only children can.

The others followed at a far more sedate pace. At a sharp command from Yao, Leon remembered to pick up the bowls from the night before, promising in a resigned tone to make up for the chores he had abandoned.

They entered the ship to find it as expected, groaning at the sight of the detritus left from the night before.

Surprisingly, however, the smell of food greeted them, wafting through from the narrow kitchen.

Investigation found Gilbert, whistling to himself as he poked at something in a shallow pan, unaware of their presence. At the sound of their footsteps, however, he turned to them, his red eyes remarkably alert for the amount he must have been drinking the night before.

Yao remarked as much, to which the albino replied with his usual chuckle.

"Kesesese! The awesome me is too great to get a stupid hangover!" he crowed.

Yao raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "You drink too much, then," he countered.

Gilbert nodded. "Probably. It takes way more beer than this tiny little ship holds to get the awesome me _properly_ drunk!"

"And we'll keep it that way," Lukas muttered. "I suppose the idiot Dane is out there somewhere?" he inquired, an eyebrow quirked in resignation.

"Oh, yeah. Me and him even got Al to drink some and boy, is that guy a lightweight! He needs to learn to hold his liquor is he's gonna drink with us again!" he laughed.

"He is underage!" Yao burst, shocked. "At least in his own country."

Gilbert shrugged. "Never bothered us. Kid's just a little bit older than he looks, so who cares what the law says? Not like they can arrest him for it."

He turned his attention back to the stove, flipping the pan.

"What are you making, anyway?" Leon asked, ignoring his guardian.

Gilbert grinned at him. "Birdie's favourite. He says it soaks up the alcohol. That and it's pretty damn tasty. Want one?"

Leon nodded. "Please."

"Right. Go see if anyone wants anything, then. Just kick them if they aren't awake," he instructed.

Leon left to do so, Emil and the boys trailing after him. They stopped at the entrance to the deck, sharing malicious grins. Glancing at each other, Emil and Leon bent down to the boys, whispering.

The children listened to their orders, grins growing steadily more wicked. In a neat little line, they marched over to the corner of the room, where a group of wide barrels were placed next to a selection of wooden buckets. Each boy took hold of one and lowered it in, drawing them out slowly.

Once each held one, they turned to the teens, who nodded. The boys' grins widened even further. As one, they turned as sharply as the full buckets would allow them, then split up, determined to carry out their orders to the fullest.

After a minute or two, a sharp yell echoed across the deck, showing that the boys had found their first victim. From the swearing that followed and the grin that stretched across Emil's face, Leon guessed that it had likely been from Matthias.

Hearing the noise, Yao rushed out of the kitchen, Lukas following at a more sedate pace. Judging by the smirk he wore, the Norwegian knew exactly what had happened.

"Good job, Lillebrør," he praised.

Emil turned to him, his eyes narrowed as if he wasn't sure if the other was being sarcastic or not. Seeing his expression, however, he relaxed, shrugging.

"It works," he replied.

Lukas raised an eyebrow curiously. "For everyone?" he inquired.

Emil and Leon shared a glance. "Probably not _everyone_ ," Leon answered. "Like, Peter's dumb, but I'm pretty sure he knows who'll be safe to dunk. Probably."

His face showed that he didn't particularly care about his sort-of brother's actions regardless.

Yao raised a hand to his head despairingly. "Ai-yah, you children are impossible," he groaned. "I will go and teach them a lesson!"

Leon shot forward, grabbing his guardian's sleeve. "You really don't need to," he rushed. "They'll be fine. Besides, the buckets won't hold that much, so they'll have to come back soon enough anyway."

Yao considered the thought for a moment, then stepped back, relenting. "It was still a very bad idea all the same," he chided.

"I can assure you it won't have done any damage," Lukas remarked coolly. "The idiot gets far worse at home, I promise."

Yao shot the Norwegian a glance. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean by that," he said primly.

Leon's face showed that he knew otherwise, but wisely didn't comment.

At that moment, the boys trooped back in, their faces alight with glee.

"We woke uncle Den up!" Peter announced.

"I heard," Lukas replied. "Well done."

Peter grinned at him.

"I don't understand what he yelled though," he said." "Do you think papa would tell me if I asked?"

"No," his uncle replied.

"Oh. Would mama?" he asked hopefully.

"Probably not. Fin doesn't speak much Danish."

"Oh. Can _you_ tell me then?" he pressed.

Emil groaned. "Peter, no-one here is going to teach you how to swear in Danish, _except_ Dan, and Sve would murder him if he knew."

His face twisted at the thought.

"On second thought, actually, go right ahead. It might shut him up for once."

" _Lillebrør_. _"_

Emil flinched, but turned to his brother with an impassive face. "Oh, so it's fine for you to strangle him, but not for Sve to murder him? What, does that right go to you or something?" he teased.

Lukas simply stared at him. "Yes," he stated.

Emil stared back for a few seconds, then turned back to Peter, throwing his hands in the air in submission.

"Fine. I give up. My family is messed up and I hate you all, and that includes you, brat. Leon, come on. Let's go find someone sensible." He turned on his heel and marched back into the kitchen, ignoring them all.

"Good luck!" Peter called after him, cheekily.

Emil called something back in Icelandic that would surely have had Berwald cover the boy's ears. As it was, he looked up to Lukas innocently, his eyes asking for a translation. Lukas looked back at him warningly.

The boy drooped, dejected. "You're no fun," he whined.

Perking up, he turned to the other two. "Let's go and wake jerk Arthur up, then!" he proposed.

"I'm going to find big brother and Dimi!" Alexandru decided.

Hans looked a little bored. "I'm hungry. You two can go and play. I want breakfast."

The others turned to him, curious. "You aren't going to go and wake _your_ brother?" Peter asked.

Hans smiled, a little wickedly. "No," he said. "Uncle Gilbert is a really good cook, so brother can wait."

"No fair! I want pancakes too!" Peter cried.

"Fine then. He can cook for all of us. Follow me."

Saying that, Hans nodded politely to Lukas and Yao, then turned and made his way into the kitchen.

There, they found Emil and Leon sitting at the narrow table, plates in front of them. Gilbert still stood over the stove, transferring something to a plate next to him. At the sound of the boy's footsteps, he turned to them, grinning.

"Hallo, kids. Want food?"

They all nodded gratefully, noses raised in the air at the delicious smells.

"Sit down then."

They did as instructed, and it wasn't long before Gilbert set a huge plate down on the table, piled high with food.

"Take what you want, then. Is anyone else up?" he asked.

They grinned at each other. "We woke Uncle Den up!" Peter told him. "Emil and Leon told us to!"

"Oh really?" the albino replied. "Was that the yell I heard then?"

They nodded, faces red as they tried not to laugh. "We took the buckets next to the barrel and threw it on him!" they giggled.

Gilbert grinned. "That'd work. Who else?" he asked.

"Just him," Peter replied.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Three buckets just for him? Bit overkill, even for him."

"Well, we weren't sure about anyone else," Peter said. "We picked him 'cuz he's safe."

"Fair enough. Luddy would be pissed, I can say that. Boring little bruder. Tell you what, you kids eat up and I'll go wake him up, ok?" he proposed.

"Aren't you hungry?" Alexandru asked.

"I've already eaten," he replied. "Now shut up and finish your food. Hans, do you know where priss and Liz are?"

The boy nodded. "In the cabin," he replied. "With Lilli."

Gilbert's face fell slightly. "Damn. Can't do it with the girls there. Liz would have my skin. Oh well." He sighed.

"Well, I might as well go and get Luddy up, at least," he decided. "Won't be long."

He strode off, leaving the kids to eat. A few minutes later, he returned with the rest of the Germanics, as well as Erzsébet and Feliciano in tow, in varying stages of alertness. Wisely, Gilbert handed Roderich and Vash cups of coffee, having learnt from centuries of experience that it wasn't a good idea for him to try anything before they had a decent amount of caffeine in their systems.

Beside her brother, Lilli looked rather more awake, yawning delicately and taking a seat at the table next to Erzsébet. Feliciano rubbed his eyes sleepily, trying to blink himself awake and failing.

Ludwig took over the cooking, allowing Gilbert to sit at the table with the others.

They seemed to have been somewhat of a catalyst, as it wasn't long before Matthias came stumbling into the kitchen, glaring at the children, who simply grinned back at him. Sighing, he walked over to Peter and ruffled the boy's hair, making him squawk indignantly. The Dane simply chuckled and reached over to the plate, taking a sausage and munching on it.

"Kids, I know you're excited, but can you not leave a man in peace?" he asked around the mouthful. "Some of us have sore heads."

Gilbert let out a cackle of laughter. "Aww, does the little Viking have a hangover?" he teased. "I told you it was impossible to beat the awesome me!" he crowed.

Matthias raised his head challengingly. "Oh yeah? Bring it on, little boy," he challenged.

Gilbert took the jibe, face alight with pride. "Oh? Well, the awesome me beat your ancient unawesome ass by half a barrel, so talk away, big man!"

" _Stop it, both of you_ ," Lukas ordered. In the absence of his usual tie, the Norwegian had to resort to yanking harshly on Matthias' collar, making him choke.

"Don't insult those younger than you," he chastised, punctuating each word with a yank.

"And you, don't encourage him." This was directed to Gilbert, who laughed.

"He started it!" he argued.

"I have absolutely no doubt he did," the blond responded coolly. "One day you will grow up. Both of you."

" _Nein, nein_! I refuse! The awesome me is too awesome to grow old!" Gilbert crowed. "Back me up, someone."

Unsurprisingly, the room ignored him. Ludwig slid another plate on to the table, shaking Feliciano awake as he did so.

"Do shut up, _bruder_ ," he asked. "No-one is impressed with your antics."

Gilbert narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Hmph. You are so totally unawesomely boring, you know," he told him.

"So you have said. Many times," he replied, voice heavy with exasperation.

"I can shoot him, if you would like," Vash cut in, having obviously woken up with his coffee intake. He glared at the albino, face radiating anger.

Ludwig shot him a glance. "If he carries on like this, I may well not stop you," he vowed.

"Oh, stop it," Erzsébet ordered. "Gil, shut up. People are trying to eat breakfast. For goodness sake leave us in peace. Go for a run or start cleaning up or _something_. But leave us alone. You have far too much energy for so early in the morning."

Gilbert sighed, exaggeratedly. " _Fi~ne_ " he drawled. "You are all far too unawesome for me. I will just have to find something far more awesome to do instead." His eyes glittered with an idea.

" _Gilbert_ ," Erzsébet chided. Her hand twitched warningly, reaching for something to throw at him.

The albino suddenly seemed to realise exactly which part of the ship they were in. Wisely, he decided to take his leave.

"See you!"

He ran out, his ringing laughter echoing along the corridor.

With his absence, the room was left much quieter, and they were content to eat in peace. Hans had excused himself briefly to collect his drawing, and had spread it out on the floor, where Erzsébet congratulated him. Roderich gave it a discerning glance, but even he could not deny the micronation's skill. Feliciano had effused the boy with praise, earning him a rare, shy smile.

Bored of being surrounded by the adults, Alexandru had left to find his brother, slipping away relatively unnoticed.

Breakfast continued relatively peacefully after that. Roderich and Erzsébet decided to take a walk outside, Hans collecting his painting supplies again and following them. Having seen the boy's skill, Feliciano decided to go with them, promising Hans to show him some of the techniques he had perfected over centuries.

By this point, it was close to mid-morning. Those who were up were chatting together in the kitchen. Alexandru had returned some time ago with Vlad and Dmitri in tow, keeping up a stream of happy chatter. The two made their way to the small stove, now running out of ingredients.

"Is this all of us?" Vlad asked the room.

"So far," Lukas replied. "Unless anyone else is awake."

"Just how much _did_ you all drink?" Yao asked them, slightly accusingly.

Vlad thought for a moment. "Well, Art was dead to the world pretty early on, but then he always is. Ivan probably didn't get _that_ drunk, there wasn't nearly enough vodka for him to. I have no idea about your lot, they went back to your ship soon after you left and I haven't seen any of them since. The kids' – by this they presumed he was referring to any of the nations younger than themselves, since he couldn't have meant the children –'went out pretty quickly, but then I think they're still underage, right?"

Lukas nodded. "That is entirely _his_ fault, and he can look forward to a lecture from Arthur about it as soon as he can yell properly," he said, jerking his thumb to Matthias.

The Dane laughed unapologetically. "Let the guy yell. It's good to let loose every once in a while!" he said. "Sure, the kids' gonna have one hell of a headache, but so what? It's learning."

Lukas elbowed him sharply.

" _Will they be alright?"_ Emil muttered to Leon.

The other teen shrugged. "Mattie can hold it. Al, not so much. He can't drink at home so when he does he tends to black out pretty quickly. He's right, he'll have a really bad hangover but he'll get over it."

As if on cue, they heard erratic footsteps coming towards them. Alfred stumbled into the kitchen, his hair messy and his glasses slightly askew on his face.

"Maaaaan, that was such a bad ideeeeaaa," he moaned. He squinted at Matthias, trying to resolve his still-fuzzy vision.

"Wassit you who let me drink?" he accused.

Matthias held his hands up in surrender. Fetching a cup, he walked over to the barrel that was kept in the corner of the room (one that the children had thankfully not noticed) and held it out placatingly.

"Drink up, buddy. S'just water, Promise."

Alfred took it gratefully, managing to lift it with shaky hands and taking a sip without spilling _too_ much down his shirt. He flung himself down on the nearest bench, cradling his head.

"'m never drinking again," he decided.

"Sure, sure," Matthias said soothingly, trying not to laugh. "Is your brother like this too?"

At that, Alfred's head shot up, only to slam back down again at the sudden light, hissing in pain.

"No. Mattie's superhuman," he moaned. "He's awake, I think. Don't know where he is. Disappeared with Francis real early. Toni and the grumpy Italy too. And the other one, nicer one."

"Probably gone to get food, then," Ludwig commented. "Good, we are beginning to run out. I should make sure they have a list." Saying that, he strode out determinedly.

"What about Arthur?" Lukas asked.

Alfred chuckled, still holding his head. "He's worse than me," he said, a note of triumph in his voice. "Pretty sure the dude's still sleeping it off."

"So we could have dunked him too!" Peter whispered to Alexandru. His face lit up with glee. Slipping out of his seat, he crept towards the door, only to be stopped by a hand grabbing the back of his shirt.

He twisted around guiltily to see Lukas, his face impassive.

He offered a guilty grin, summoning a weak giggle. "I wasn't going to do anything!" he rushed. "I just, um, need the bathroom! Yeah! Really badly! So, if you could just let me go that would be brilliant, thank you! ah-hah!"

Lukas did so, leaning down to Peter's level.

"You'll need at least two buckets," he whispered, face still blank.

Peter stared at him for a moment, shocked, before his face spread into a wide grin.

"You're the best, Uncle Lukas!" he cried. He sped off. Alexandru debated for a moment whether to follow him, but decided to stay where he was. He leant into Vlad, who lifted his arm for the boy to snuggle into him. He did so, twisting around until he was between him and Dmitri. He began playing with the cuffs on his brother's coat, content to let the adult's talk wash over him.

Peter returned a few minutes later with an expression of mixed pride and chagrin.

"Jerk Arthur is awake!" he announced.

"And how mad is he?" Matthias asked lightly.

"Really really!" the boy cheered. "I don't think I've even _heard_ some of the words he said before!"

His face turned crafty. "I guess you wouldn't tell me what it means?" he asked hopefully. "I've asked everyone else what you said means, but no-one will tell me."

To his credit, Matthias' flushed slightly. He rubbed the back of his head apologetically.

"Sorry, kiddo. Can't tell you that. Maybe when you're older," he said."

Peter stuck his lip out in a pout, but sighed resignedly. "No-one tells me _anything_ ," he mourned.

* * *

 **A/N I have nothing to say. Boring or not? I don't really know about this chapter, so criticism would be lovely. Flames will be used for firewood and fed to Calcifer to cook bacon with (yummy, yummy bacon!) but feedback of any kind is welcome.**

 **I repeat, I _want_ to say that the next really will be end, but we'll see how it goes. I _should_ be devoting my time to writing, but procrastination is a b****. You guys can just, like, stop writing such good fics on here, right? That would help. (cough. cough. Um, a** **s a certain 13 year old lordling says, it's market research. Research, I tell you. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)**

 **Well, that about wraps it up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Up next: Cleanup duty! Fun times for all.**


	18. And so, Like All Things, It Ends

**A/N IT'S DONE! This is it. Finally. As usual, I spent ages trying to come up with a plot and a way of resolving it, and then wrote nearly the entire thing in the space of about five hours. Oh well. I'm rather proud of it. This is the first multi-chapter work I have ever completed. Here's to many more.**

 **And so, with no delay, here is the final chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Chapter 18. In which all good things must come to an end.**

* * *

Chapter 18

After everyone had finished eating, the clean up began. Those who were not already awake were soon roused by the sound of movement, and were roped in to help. Yao had gone back over to his own ship, telling them that he would be back soon with the others.

He returned an hour or so later with the rest of Leon's siblings in tow, all looking far more awake and refreshed. Ivan followed with his sisters and the Baltics, Feliks yawning behind them. Sadiq, Heracles and Gupta were nowhere to be seen.

Finally, everyone stood on the deck, surveying the extent of the damage.

It was evident with the light of day. Plates, bowls and cups littered the deck, the table itself still full of leftover dishes. Some had been knocked over on to the floor, staining it with sauce and food. The deck itself was sticky and slippery, and reeked of stale beer and wine.

"Eww," Peter declared. "Gross."

"Messy!" Alexandru announced.

Hans simply wrinkled his nose in disgust.

Yao sighed. "Thanks, kids. Great observations. Now, buckets!"

Peter glanced at Leon, who shook his head. "Do it," he said. "Believe me, sensei doesn't take any jokes with chores."

Grumbling, they set to it. They were soon joined by Ludwig and Gilbert, who had returned from their run, and, seeing the cleanup in progress, had immediately got to work. The albino seemed to take great delight in ordering the others around, while still somehow managing to do more work than anyone.

"Let me have that, kiddo," he said to Alexandru, seeing the boy trying to lift a broom nearly as tall as he was.

With all hands on deck -literally- it didn't take nearly as long as expected. The sun was almost at the zenith by the time the last of the rags were dropped into buckets and they stood looking over the newly-cleaned deck.

They stood in silence for a moment, enjoying the feeling of accomplishment.

The moment was then rather ruined by the arrival of Arthur, Francis, Matthew and the others.

"Goodness, you lot have been busy," the Englishman commented.

"No thanks to you!" Peter shot back. Arthur raised his impressive eyebrows. "Pardon me, I'm sure," he replied sharply. "I suppose chores haven't worked up an appetite for you then?"

He held the bag in his hands high, the delicious sugary-sweet aroma wafting across the air. Peter's eyes shone at the thought.

"NO! I'm hungry, really truly!" he cried.

"That's what I thought. Well, take this to the kitchen then," Arthur ordered.

"Right, sir!"

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the boy, but let the sass pass.

"Actually, can we eat outside?" Lukas asked. "I've put an ice spell over the kitchen so the food doesn't spoil, and I rather doubt you lot can take the cold."

"Good sport," Arthur said. "Right then. Picnic it is, I suppose."

"Yay!" Peter cheered.

This time, they decided to forego plates, eating straight from the bags. Feliciano had found the basket he had from before, somehow having remembered to store it on the ship. He had also bought a large bottle of wine that Lovino had immediately taken from him, and was being shared between him and Antonio. Alexandru had taken a sniff at it and promptly recoiled with a disgusted expression.

"What? Kid doesn't drink wine?" he scoffed.

"Smells yucky," the boy said. "Big brother, I don't want any."

Vlad laughed and mussed his hair. "I wasn't going to give you any, anyway. Want something else instead?"

"Yes please!" he said.

Lovino gave him a narrowed glance. Alexandru turned from where he had got up and shot him a brilliant smile, letting a hint of his fangs peek out.

"LEXI," Vlad warned, his voice light with laughter.

"Sorry," he apologised, still giggling. He ran over to Dmitri, who had a basket next to him.

"Drink please!" he ordered.

The Bulgarian smiled at him, taking out a small bottle. "Here. Milk. Not blood," he said, handing it over.

"Boo." Alexandru pouted, but took the bottle all the same, dropping into the man's lap. Dmitri wrapped his arms around the boy absently, sharing a look over his head with Vlad.

Lovino shook his head. "You are not part of our family," he said to Vlad.

"Am too," the Romanian retorted.

"Are not."

"Am too." Vlad turned to where the others sat. "Feli!" he yelled.

The younger Italian turned around with a curious expression.

"Si?"

"Am I your cousin?" he asked plaintively.

Feliciano's face furrowed in confusion. "Y~es?" he responded. "I mean, you speak funny and you're weirder than the rest of us, but everyone is different. Grandpa Rome would have liked you, so that's good enough for me!"

He seemed to think for a moment. "You _do_ like pasta, right?"

Vlad nodded. "As much as anything else, yes."

Feliciano beamed at him. "That's good. I wouldn't let you be part of the family if you didn't. Now, Lovi, stop being mean to him."

Alexandru seemed to be absorbing this information. Suddenly, he reached a decision. "Does that make _me_ your cousin?" he asked.

Feliciano looked over to him, wondering. He looked the boy up and down, smiling. "You're cute, so why not? I always wanted a little _bambino_ to play with. Besides, Seb likes you. He looks after your friends, doesn't he? Don't you, Seb?"

Sebastian turned away with a grin. "Uh, yeah. I guess. Yes. I do."

Lovino opened an eye to glare at him. "The hell is that supposed to mean, _fratellino?"_ he asked.

"He hit his head and fell out of a tree upside down!" Alexandru supplied. "Peter told me. And he falls asleep a lot. But he's nice. He cooks for us when I stay over with everyone, cuz Peter, um, can't and Erl can only look up recipes but can't follow them and Wendy cooks really weird stuff and Hans likes baking but not cooking and we can't eat cake _all_ the time and Jason doesn't hang out with us much and Hutt says he's too good to cook for us. But Seb is a good cook! I bet you are too!"

Lovino stared the boy. "Do you even breathe?" he asked, finally.

Alexandru giggled at him. "Nope!"

Lovino stared at him some more, then, exasperated, lay back down, closing his eyes and turning away from them all determinedly.

* * *

Once they had all finished eating, there wasn't much to do. Everyone trooped back to the ship with a feeling of anticipation.

The next few hours were spent in a mixture of boredom and building excitement. Time went by slowly, the heat of the afternoon dragging everyone into exhaustion. Lovino, Antonio and the others went for their usual siesta, leaving the ship to fall into a lull of quiet.

With nothing else to do, Alexandru, Peter and Hans went out to play again, ignoring the warnings from the adults to stay out of the sun.

Leon and Emil were beginning to seriously hate the boredom, wishing desperately for some kind of entertainment option. Kiku had apparently started working on some kind of drawing, although he refused to tell any of them what it was. The fact that Mei was hanging over his shoulder and whispering suggestions to him gave them a pretty good idea, however.

Time dragged on, inevitably. The sun began its trek towards the horizon, taking the heat of the day with it. The light spilling across the deck turned from blazing heat to a rich golden glow, shining through the portholes and turning the air hazy with dust motes.

Bored of playing, the boys had decided to go on a hunt through the ship, descending into the lower decks to escape the heat.

They spent the next few hours playing among the cargo, using their imagination to fill the empty spaces where the cannons would rest. Luckily, there was no threat of _actual_ pirates, but with so many seasoned captains on board they almost wished there would be.

It was Arthur who came to find them a few hours later. He stopped at the entrance to the cargo deck, a faint smile on his face. Looking across at the three, he took a quick glance back to check that he wouldn't be seen, and jumped down, landing silently.

"AVAST, YE LANDLUBBERS!" he cried.

They all screamed, turning to him with a shock. Peter wobbled dangerously, wheeling his arms frantically as he tried to right himself from where he was standing on the edge of a stack of boxes.

"It's the captain! Run, mates! Save yourselves!" he yelled. He reached behind him, coming up with a rather wicked-looking dagger in his hand.

Caught out for a moment, Arthur shot him a look of concern.

"I say, that's not the one I bought you, is it?" he asked.

Peter grinned at him. "Yep! I had Uncle Matthias sharpen it for me!" he quipped.

Arthur blinked in shock. "Well, just be careful, will you?" he warned.

"Sure! Now, have at thee, codfish!" Saying that, Peter ran towards his brother, careful to hold the dagger to the side.

Arthur met him head on, twisting to the side at the last moment. Grabbing the boy's arm, he swung Peter around to hold him against his chest. He glared at Alexandru and Hans, who were exchanging grins.

"I have your leader!" he said, making his voice deep. "And now, the boy will die. What say you, children?"

"Noooo!" they cried, giggling.

"There can be no plea for mercy now," Arthur declared. "Boy, choose your death!"

"Your cooking!" Peter quipped.

"Oy, you little monster." Arthur adjusted his grip to put the boy in a headlock, messing his hair fondly. He straightened up, holding Peter out at arm's length.

"He walks the plank!" he cried. "Any last words, boy?"

Peter grinned at the others. He stood to his full height, stiffening his body. Then, quick as a flash, he twisted out of Arthur's grip, turning to face him with a huge grin.

"To die will be an awfully big adventure!" he said, beaming.

"But I can't die, unless I eat your cooking, so I'm free to sail the seven seas for eternity! Hurrah! Take that, Captain Hook!"

Arthur smiled at him warmly, all traces of his usual bluster gone.

This is how it should be, he thought. _This_ was what the spell was designed for. Oh, it hadn't exactly gone as planned, he had to admit, but this was what he had wanted. Matthew and Alfred were far too old to enjoy it now, although they hadn't complained nearly as much as he had feared at first. But Peter? He was just the right age for this. 

By all rights, he should not even exist. It was a testament to the vagaries of their existence that he had been given life at all, that a collection of iron and steel and steam had made such an impression on those who spent the few short years there that he had been called into existence. He was not the youngest of them, but he would in all likelihood far outlive the others of his kind, the physical nature of the fort he represented granting him a form close to indestructible to rival any of them with a terrestrial landform.

Sensing that he had gone silent, Peter cocked his head to the side. "Arthur?" he asked.

Shocked out of his thoughts, the man shook his head, clearing it. "Nothing. Anyway, plank-walking aside, it's almost time for dinner. Hop along, you three."

"Alright! Food!" Peter ran forward, then stopped suspiciously. "It _isn't_ yours, is it?" he questioned.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Cheeky brat. No, it isn't. It's leftovers. If you want anything else you'll have to go and buy it yourself. Or cook. No, wait, _don't_ _cook for yourself_!" he warned, stopping the boy as he stood on the steps up to the deck.

"I wasn't going to!" Peter retorted. "Cooking is boring. Come on, boys, race you there!" he cried.

"No fair! You have a head start!" Alexandru whined.

"No I don't! I'm waiting here, promise," Peter replied. "But not forever. The stupid adults will get there first if we don't hurry. Ten, nine, eight…" he drawled, counting slowly.

"NU! Wait, wait!" Alexandru barrelled past Arthur, breathing out an apology as he did so. Hans followed on his heels, rather more slowly. "Excuse me," he said quietly. Arthur nodded, motioning him to go ahead. Hans dipped his head in thanks, climbing the stairs to the deck.

Arthur let the sound of their footsteps fade, standing in the empty room. His eyes grazed across the deck, allowing his mind to fill in the gaps until it was restored to the image of his youth. 

Rows of cannons stood along the sides, each facing out to deal untold death and destruction. Powder kegs and barrels lined the wall, buckets of sand and water placed beside them for safety. The air was heavy with smoke and the acrid smell of salt, gunpowder, blood, straw, metal and all the thousand other scents of battle. Screams rent the air, warcries mixed with pain and anger as the ships tried their best to destroy each other.

They had been so young then, he realised. For all that they had been many centuries old already, their bodies had been that of perhaps sixteen or seventeen. Not much younger than many of the sailors, in fact.

"It takes you back, _oui_?"

Arthur jolted, startled. He heard Francis chuckle behind him, a sad smile on his face.

"I came to find you," he explained. "I might have known you were taking a trip to the past."

Arthur didn't reply, instead folding his arms and staring across the deck. The sunlight played across the floor, rippling with the reflection from the water.

"It was important," he said at last, almost to himself.

"I know."

"No, you don't," Arthur said sadly. He waved a hand at the room, gesturing to the boxes and piles of ropes. "Peter was playing here, with the other two. He loved it, I could see it in his eyes. This is a game to him. Everything is a game to him. He's a child. He'll _always_ be a child. He just wants people to acknowledge him. That's all he wants. I don't think he even wants to be a country, really. He just wants to be taken seriously. And all I do is push him away and scoff at him. How different am I, really? I did the same with the others and look what happened. My country is falling apart and I can't do anything about it. Can you blame me for wanting to return to the past, even just for a while?"

Francis shook his head. "We all want to return to the past, _mon ami_ ," he said. "But we need to face the future, as well."

Arthur ignored him, but his shoulders hunched inwards, his hands tightening on his arms as he moved.

"I did this for the boys," he said. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know," Francis repeated. "But it has been fun, hasn't it? They enjoyed it, I know they did. We all did. Even those who would never say it, they did not hate this. But we cannot stay here, you know that."

Arthur turned to him at last. The sun shone onto his face, the dying light making his eyes glow as if from within, turning them into emerald marbles. His hair seemed spun from gold, the strands glittering in the light.

To Francis, he seemed like an angel, a phantom of the past stuck in time from so many centuries ago. Here stood the remnants of a once-proud empire, the lands he commanded stretching across so vast a distance that it was said the sun would never set on it. But as with all else, it could not last. Each country grew and matured, gaining their independence as they gained the strength to lead on their own.

"Was it so very bad?" he asked, softly.

Arthur shook his head. "No, it wasn't, at that," he said. A small smile played across his face, showing a side of him that he rarely, if ever, let others see. Francis returned it, feeling a rush of emotions that only the man in front of him could make him feel. He extended his arm, holding his hand out.

"To dinner, _cherie_?" he asked. He tilted his head to the side, welcoming and inviting in equal measure.

Arthur shook his head fondly, but stepped forward nonetheless.

"You are incorrigible, frog, you know that?" he asked.

" _Oui_. And you would have me no other way," Francis replied.

"No, I suppose not," Arthur sighed.

* * *

The deck above was full as everyone had converged for dinner, lured by the promise of food. Hearing their footsteps, Peter turned around, holding a chicken wing in either hand.

"You were gone an awfully long time, so I sent Francis to find you!" he exclaimed. "You were still gone for ages though. Are you alright?"

Arthur felt his mouth turn up in a smile before smothering it down. "Quite alright, thank you. I see you've dug in already then?" he noticed.

"Yep! Don't worry, there's still plenty!" Peter stated.

"Good. Don't eat too much," Arthur warned. "You'll get a stomach-ache."

"I won't! But this is all _really_ yummy!" he said.

"I'm sure," Arthur replied. He drifted off to the table, allowing the noise of the deck to wash over him. As usual, Alfred was shouting about something, Matthew standing next to him with an exasperated look.

"Alright, Matthew?" he asked.

The Canadian turned to look at him, surprised. "Eh? Oh, yeah. I think Al got hold of beer again," he explained. "And I was sure we had drunk all of it."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Well, he can make his own mistakes, I'm sure. Let him drink. If a double hangover isn't enough for him to learn then I hardly think a lecture will do it for him now."

Matthew stared at him. "Are you sure you're feeling all right, Arthur? Was it too hot this afternoon? Do you need a drink or something to eat? We don't have any painkillers here, but I'm sure Lukas or Vlad might be able to use a spell, or maybe Yao would know of something-"

Arthur cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I'm quite all right, thank you, Matthew. I've just come to the conclusion that you two are old enough to look after yourselves, that's all."

Matthew raised an eyebrow, still very confused. "Oh. Um, thanks, I suppose?"

"Welcome. Now, eat up. We don't want the food going to waste." Saying that, Arthur took a plate and wandered over to the table, leaving Matthew utterly confused. He turned to Francis, his expression pleading.

His former guardian laughed softly. "Angleterre is getting nostalgic," he explained. "He is, as he says, quite all right."

"R~ight." Matthew decided it would be better not to ask, and didn't pry any further. He couldn't stop a small smile playing across his lips, though, at the thought of the family they used to be. 

* * *

Soon, sunlight slipped into dusk, turning into a clear night. The sun was replaced with a brilliant moon, shining brightly and turning the water into liquid pearls wherever it reflected.

As everyone grew full, thoughts turned to home, and the world waiting for them there. Talk grew quiet, eventually stopping. The ship fell silent, filled with the same sense of waiting as before.

Now, thought, it was time. Arthur looked out to the still sea, noting that the moon was almost at it's highest point.

Turning back, he glanced over to Lukas and Vlad, who both nodded.

It was time to go home.

Reversing the spell turned out to be a far simpler process than they thought. Arthur had everyone gather on the deck, which was a little cramped, but they managed. Then, he took up a position at the top of the deck, where he could see everyone.

"I take it we _are_ all here?" he asked.

"If not, we will soon find out!" Francis called.

"Can it, frog," Arthur retorted. "I really do need to make sure of this. I don't want to repeat this."

"Yes, we are all here. Can you please get on with this?" That from Ludwig, who looked decidedly annoyed.

Arthur sighed deeply. "Fine. You know, I want to go back just as much as you."

"Then get on with it!"

Muttering under his breath, Arthur raised his arms. Across the deck, Lukas and Vlad did the same. Truthfully, Arthur didn't really need them to help with the spell, but a little theatrical license never hurt anyone.

Closing his eyes, he focused on the energy surrounding him. As they had thought, the magical build-up from the spell was significant, surrounding each of them in a bright, glowing aura. Slowly, Arthur drew it towards him, harnessing it and drawing it into his body.

The others would see nothing, of course. To them, he appeared merely to be standing with a look of fierce concentration, as though thinking. There were more than a few of them rolling their eyes and muttering to each other about the apparent stupidity of it all.

Arthur, of course, could not hear them, his focus entirely on the spell. Slowly, he gathered the last vestiges of energy, turning and crafting it to suit his needs.

Some spells required counters, some to be spoken backwards, some elaborate rituals full of pomp and order. This, however, did not.

It was rather like breaking a daydream. Using the energy, Arthur let his mind expand, rising upwards. He visualised himself rising above the clouds, imagining his body as it was in the room. Concentrating, he reached out, grasping the edge of the table in front of him. With the other hand, he grasped the scroll lying to one side, from which he had read. Rolling it out in front of him, he pushed the energy into the words on the page. Opening his mouth, he imbued his words with magic.

"End Game. Release!"

The scroll glowed green for a second, the words flashing a brilliant light and making him shield his face.

When it died down, he risked peeking an eye open.

"Did it work?"

"Well, I don't know, what do you think, idiot? We're back in the stupid room full of stupid idiots, so what do you think?"

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. They were once again in the plain room of the hotel, each one of them in the same position they had been in before.

"Wow, Arthur. You're getting better at the whole magic thing!" Alfred exclaimed. "We're totally back to normal! Clothes and everything! Hey, even the board is the same! No fair, man, I bet I levelled up like a ton as well!"

"How? You didn't do anything?" Matthew remarked.

Alfred turned to him with a pout. "Not cool, bro. That was totally awesome, I had a total blast and we should totally do it again sometime! Can we, dude, please?"

"NO!"

The chorus rang across the room. Alfred pouted again, but good-naturedly grinned all the same. "Aw man."

Arthur smiled, saying nothing. Slipping out of the room, he stood in the corridor. Taking a quick glance to either side, he closed his eyes, holding the scroll in one hand. His brows furrowed as he concentrated. The scroll rose an inch or two into the air, then disappeared.

He returned to the others, waving off Francis' look of concern. "Just taking care of something," he said.

Francis raised an eyebrow knowingly, but didn't comment.

.

.

.  
Back in his mansion, the scroll lay in a trunk, hidden with all the others. As anyone knew, magic, once created, could never be destroyed. And who knows, maybe Alfred's wish would come true some time.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Well. There you have it. 6 months, 18 chapters and almost 70K words, and it's complete. Oh, it's not perfect, and there's tons of things I kind of want to change, but this is it. My very first multi-chapter fanfiction (or any fiction, for that matter). I loved writing it, and I very much hope you've enjoyed reading it.**

 **For those who followed this, thank you very much. Each and every notification, whether it be a follow, favourite or review, means so much to me. You are amazing. (I myself am terrible for not leaving reviews, and I will try to do so in future.)**

 **Thanks again, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it! If you have, please let me know, or indeed if you haven't! Thanks for reading!**


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